Family Ties
by The Lilac Elf of Lothlorien
Summary: Sam and Dean stop in to surprise an old friend whose father's a fellow hunter. When the man turns up dead, the daughter-Fiona Brendan-becomes the prime suspect in the murder. And when NCIS gets called to investigate things start to get sticky...-image from GaterGirl79
1. Chapter 1

AUTHOR'S NOTES: When I first started writing my story 'Not All Family Is Blood' I actually had two story lines I wanted to use with the title. And since my first NCIS/Supernatural fic was a hit, I'm going ahead with this story as well. I know I have too many unfinished stories but my brain bounces around like a pinball machine, so...

Story Summary: Sam and Dean Winchester stop in to surprise an old friend whose father was a fellow hunter. But when the man turns up dead, the daughter-Gunnery Sergeant Fiona Brendan-becomes the prime suspect in the murder. The Winchesters then have to work with NCIS to uncover the truth while avoiding being found by the feds.

* * *

SUPERNATURAL: Family Ties

(Crossover w/NCIS)

CHAPTER 1

* * *

It was strange to see Jethro Gibbs leaving the NCIS squad room early. And not even early for him which was usually around 9:30 at night.

At 5 in the afternoon, Gibbs grabbed his badge and gun and pulled on his overcoat and headed for the door after instructing Tony DiNozzo to keep an eye on things.

Once their boss was in the elevator and the doors had closed, Tony looked at the other two agents: Timothy McGee and Ziva David. "Boss is leaving early. What's up with that?"

"Maybe he has a doctor's appointment or something," McGee suggested, although he doubted it.

But the team could only speculate as to why their fearless leader had left suddenly and much, much earlier than usual.

After a few minutes, Tony made sure the coast was clear before he went over to Gibbs' desk and started rifling through it.

"Tony, what are you doing?" McGee asked, stunned that Tony would go through their boss's desk. Well, not surprised that Tony would go through someone else's desk but rather that he would do it to Gibbs.

"Tony, stop before Gibbs comes back," Ziva warned, but as she said it, Tony held up what looked like an invitation of sorts.

"But then I wouldn't have found this," Tony replied with a smug grin on his face.

Ziva and McGee leaned over Tony's shoulders as they read the invitation. "Who is Fiona Brendan?" Ziva asked, the name not ringing a bell from any of their cases.

McGee went back over to his own computer and typed the name into the search engine, pulling her stats up onto the large plasma screen.

"Very nice," Tony replied, admiring the woman's picture.

"Fiona Brendan," McGee reported. "Currently a Marine Corps Staff Sergeant."

"Currently?" Ziva repeated, slightly puzzled.

"Due to be promoted tomorrow at 11am," McGee replied.

"But what's her connection to Gibbs?" Tony wondered, looking at the plasma screen.

McGee continued to look through Fiona's records and finally, his eyebrows raised a bit. "How about this for a connection?" With a few deft keystrokes, he brought up a photo taken in Kuwait. Zooming in on the photo, he looked at Tony and Ziva.

"That's Gibbs," Ziva said pointing to a younger-looking Leroy Jethro Gibbs on the left.

"So who are the other two?" Tony asked, curious.

"Guy on the right is James Brendan," McGee replied, looking at the computer file. "And in the middle is John Winchester. The three were best friends years ago."

"Answers the question of who Gibbs is meeting so early in the after noon.," Tony mused. "But why wouldn't he tell us?"

* * *

For Sam and Dean Winchester, there were very few times when they could make a trip because they wanted to. It seemed that most of their time was spent traveling from one supernatural hunting job to another.

But when they got a call from the daughter of a fellow demon hunter they quickly turned their car—a black '67 Chevy Impala—around and headed towards Washington, DC.

Life had been hard for the brothers growing up and sometimes they had no idea where the road would take them. Being out on the road with their dad was sometimes an adventure and eventually Sam and Dean had come to expect the unexpected.

But neither brother expected the bond that would form with Fiona Brendan, the daughter of one of their father's best friends in the US Marine Corps. Once he'd started hunting demons, John Winchester had pretty much become a loner, accepting help from other hunters only sporadically. But after finding out that one of his fellow Marines was also a demon hunter, John and James had joined forced on multiple hunts.

Older than Dean by 4 years, Fiona was occasionally the mediator between Sam and Dean as they grew up together and while Sam still had a crush on her, Fiona and Dean's relationship was always that of brother and sister, much to everyone's surprise.

"I can't believe it," Dean muttered as he and Sam reached the outskirts of DC.

"What that Fi's getting promoted to Gunnery Sergeant at 34?" Sam asked, a slight scoff in his voice. It had seemed unlikely when they'd first heard the news from Fiona's father but when Fiona herself had called them, Sam had asked about the promotion. When she hadn't sounded exactly happy about it, both Sam and Dean wondered what had happened.

"No, not that," Dean replied, eyes on the road. "Just… the fact that it's been so long since we've seen her last, you know?" Looking over at Sam, he said, "What was it? 4 years ago?"

"5," Sam replied, not looking at his brother, although he could feel Dean's stare. "She surprised me at Stanford when she was on leave."

"Was that before or after you and Jessica became an item?" Dean asked, giving Sam a grin.

Sam was stony for a while and Dean wondered if he'd hit the wrong nerve. But then Sam smiled. "It was before, Dean. And nothing happened. We just talked. Caught up on things."

"Uh-huh," Dean said with a smirk.

x

When they pulled up to the address Fiona had given then, Sam and Dean parked the Impala out on the street and got out, Dean grabbing two wrapped packages from the backseat, one long and one short.

"Dean, what's this?" Sam asked, indicating the packages.

"It's a party, dude," Dean said, grinning. "So I thought a few presents were in order."

Heading up to the front door with Sam behind him, Dean rang the doorbell and after a few minutes the door opened but instead of Fiona there was an older man standing there. Slightly taken aback, Dean said, "Hi, we're looking for Fiona. I'm Dean—"

"Winchester," the older man finished, a slow look of recognition on his face. Standing aside to let the brothers inside, he waited until the younger men spotted the framed picture on a table near the door.

Sam picked up the photo and nudged his brother before handing it to him.

Dean stared at the picture of his father standing with two other men and recognized one of them at the man now standing in Fiona's hallway.

"Your father was one of my best friends," Gibbs said, taking the picture from Sam and looking at the worn-yet much younger-faces. "This was taken right before John was discharged." Setting the picture down, Gibbs studied Dean and Sam. "So how have you boys been?"

"Oh, it's a long story," Dean said, putting on a smile.

"Let me guess," said a female voice from the stairs. "Diners, motels, and living out of that Chevy Impala." As Fiona came down the steps, she smiled at the two brothers. "Sam and Dean. How long has it been?"

Dean was about to answer when Fiona pushed him gently aside and wrapped her arms around Sam's neck and within seconds, they were in the middle of a deep kiss.

"Ahem," Dean said, clearing his throat loudly. When Sam started putting his arms around Fiona and deepening the kiss, Dean tried again. "Sammy!"

Gibbs chuckled softly and took a step towards the couple and with one swift mood, head-slapped both of them.

Pulling apart, Fiona smiled, happily. "I have been waiting a _long_ time to do that, Sammy."

"Fiver!" Dean said, bracing himself Fiona's wrath. Sure enough, she whirled about on him and before he knew it, he was on his back with Fiona pinning him down.

"What did I tell you about calling me that, Dean?" Fiona said, and although she _sounded_ angry, she had a devilish grin on her face.

When Fiona let Dean up, she shot a false-glare at Sam. "Wipe that smile off your face, Sam."

"Fiver?" Gibbs asked, looking curious at the nickname.

But instead of smiling, Fiona looked saddened as she looked at Dean and Sam before turning to Gibbs. "You remember when Dad and John dropped us all off at your place when Kelly was 7?"

Gibbs remembered that time well as it was right after James Brendan had saved him from a vampire nest. "I remember," Gibbs replied, simply.

"Well, Kelly wanted to read the book _'Watership Down'_," Fiona went on. "And Dean, Sam and I started reading it with her and we all did voices for the characters."

"After that," Sam said, picking up the story. "Kelly called me 'Hazel' and Dean 'Bigwig'."

"And I got stuck with 'Fiver'," Fiona finished as she went into the kitchen and grabbed four beers from the fridge. Once everyone had a drink, she looked at Sam who had brought the packages Dean had dropped in the hallway and set them on the counter. "So what's with the housewarming gifts?"

Dean slid the larger box towards Fiona but didn't say anything as she opened the box and withdrew a gleaming sword.

"Dean," Fiona said, breathlessly as she lifted the US Marine Corps NCO sword and hefted it in her hands, being careful of the blade as she pulled the sword from the scabbard. "How the hell did you get this?"

"Called in a couple favors," Dean replied, vaguely as he glanced in Gibbs' direction.

Fiona caught the glance and smirked as she laid the sword down on the counter. "Gibbs knows."

"Knows…?" Sam asked, studying Fiona.

"Demons, ghosts… the whole hunter gig," she replied, sipping her beer. She looked over at Gibbs as if asking for permission to explain. When Gibbs gave her a nod, she said, "Gibbs' wife and daughter were killed almost 20 years ago."

"Wait," Sam said, setting his beer down. "I remember that." Looking at Dean, he went on. "Dad left us with Bobby for almost 5 months. We thought he was on another hunt but he said he was helping out a friend."

"John and James came by," Gibbs said, picking up the story. "Stayed until they were sure I wasn't going to… go off the deep end."

"Or eat your gun," Fiona added, giving Gibbs a look. "Dad said you really had him worried a couple times."

"Where is your dad?" Dean asked, suddenly curious. It seemed odd that James Brendan wouldn't be around when his only child was getting such a prestigious advancement in rank.

Fiona's expression grew stony as she downed the rest of her beer. "He says he's coming but I can count the number of times Dad's kept his promises on one hand."

Dean wasn't sure what to say to that since his own father hadn't been much better about keeping promises before he'd died. Sliding the smaller package towards Fiona, he said, "Well, we're here, anyway."

"And I really appreciate it," Fiona assured him. "I mean, Gibbs I knew I could count on. And there's the guys in my unit who'll be there. But you and Sam coming here… I can't thank you guys enough."

"Hey, it's the least we could do," Sam assured her with a smile.

Fiona gave him a smile before opening the second box and pulling out a USMC K-Bar knife with a deer antler handle. "Nice," she said, admiring the knife. Looking at the runes engraved on the blade, she added, "Interesting lettering."

"Yeah, a, uh… a friend helped me out with that," Dean replied. "One of two knives in the world that can kill demons."

Fiona slid the knife back into its sheath and looked at Dean and Sam. "You guys are the best." Turning to Gibbs, she gave him a kiss on the cheek. "And thank you so much for coming tomorrow."

"Hey, what kind of godfather would I be if I stood you up?" Gibbs replied, giving her a smile and a return kiss on the cheek. "Mind if I bring company in the morning?"

"Oh, please do," Fiona said with a smile. "More the merrier." Looking at the clock on the wall, she added, "Couple guys in my unit wanted to get together for dinner. You guys game?"

Dean gave Fiona his best smile. "You know me. I love a party."

"I'm in," Sam added.

"Ah, what the hell," Gibbs added. "Why not?"


	2. Chapter 2

AUTHOR'S NOTES: Just a quick point of clarification on this story-this takes place during the 5th season of 'NCIS' and the 4th season of 'Supernatural'.

Chapter 2

* * *

The townhouse was quiet when Fiona got up and headed downstairs to start coffee before getting a shower and heading to her closet. Although her clothes mostly consisted of camo gear, there were some regular shirts and a couple pairs of old blue jeans. Grabbing her best camo, she quickly got dressed before doing her hair and tying up her boots.

Turning to head for the door, she picked up a photo of herself when she was 3 years old with her mom and dad at the zoo. The picture had been taken the day before Fiona's mother, Chase, had died in a car accident.

Fiona set the photo back on the bookcase and headed out of her bedroom. It was harder and harder these days for Fiona to avoid thinking about her father. They hadn't spoken in 3 years, ever since she told him that she wasn't going to leave the Marines and return to being a hunter.

Hearing someone in the kitchen as she headed down the stairs, Fiona walked in, hoping it was her father but instead finding Sam adding milk and sugar to his cup of coffee. "Morning," she said, briefly as she tossed her cover (A/N: Or cap. Whichever term you prefer.) onto the counter. "Sleep okay?"

"Uh, yeah," Sam replied, nodding as he handed Fiona a mug of black coffee. Looking at Fiona he asked, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," Fiona insisting, realizing that she much have still looked disappointed. "I-I was just hoping that Dad would show this morning." Catching Sam giving her a sympathetic look, she gave him a sad smile. "Stupid, right? To think that my Dad's going to suddenly come by telling me he's proud of me?"

"It's not stupid," Sam insisted, thinking of his relationship with his own father. "Fi, I get it. Believe me, I do. And in the end, I found out my dad was proud of me. I'm sure James feels the same way about you."

"It just feels like when I was hunting I never knew where the danger was," Fiona said, trying to explain. "Demons, monsters, ghosts… But being a Marine… I _know_ what I'm facing every day. And I'm still saving lives. Hell, I've even had a couple of supernatural hunts while in Iraq and Afghanistan." After a while, she said, "When my 5 year hitch was up, Dad wanted me to quit and go back to being a full time hunter." Looking at Sam, she shrugged. "But it's just not who I am."

After a few moments of drinking their coffee in silence, Fiona leaned against the counter, glancing at the door before asking, "So, what's up with Dean? He looks a little more ragged than usual."

Sam grabbed a barstool from the corner and sat down at the counter with his coffee, sure that he was in for a chewing out. "Yeah, he's, uh… been through some stuff."

But Fiona wasn't buying the excuse. Leaning in closer to Sam, she said, "Sam, I know about 'going through some stuff'. That's not what's going on. Dean's got that 'I've seen horrors you can only imagine' look. What's going on?"

Sam sighed as he debated telling Fiona the truth but after a while he realized that she had a right to know. "You remember last night I said I'd been hunting a couple months on my own?"

"Yeah. Dean didn't say what he was doing, though," Fiona replied, not sure where Sam was going with this.

Sam sighed again. "About a year and a half ago Dean and I finally caught up with the demon that killed Mom and Jess. Dean killed him… but not before I got stabbed in the back."

Fiona straightened up at that, fixing Sam with a look. "Then how are you still walking around?"

Sam seemed reluctant to reply but after a few moments of Fiona staring him down, he finally said, "Dean made a deal to bring me back. He had one year."

"Dean was in Hell," Fiona said as she pulled up a second barstool and sat down opposite Sam. "Man…" After a moment, however, she halfway stood and reached out a hand to smack Sam on the back of the head. "Why the freakin' hell am I just finding out about this _now_? What, I don't matter any more? And why wouldn't you tell me—"

"'Cause I told Sam _not_ to tell you," Dean replied as he came into the kitchen and grabbed a cup of coffee. Seeing Fiona getting pissed, he added, "Look, Fi, there was nothing you could have done, okay?"

Hearing the front door open, Fiona pointed a finger at Dean and glaring at him. "You and I are not done talking about this." Turning to see Gibbs come in, she gave him a smile. "Hey, you made it."

"Hey, I promised I would, didn't I?" Gibbs replied with a return smile. "Better hurry. Don't want to be late, right?"

Out in the driveway, Fiona stopped Dean before he headed towards the Impala. "Dean, you can ride with me."

Dean wanted to argue but seeing the set look in Fiona's eye, he gave her the briefest of nods and tossed his keys to Sam who got into the driver's seat of the Impala, watching as Dean and Fiona got into Fiona's pick-up truck and pull out of the driveway and head down the road.

"So start at the beginning," Fiona said, not looking at Dean.

Dean had known from the moment he got in the car that he'd have to tell Fiona everything. But he didn't relish the idea at all. "Yellow-eyed demon collected up a bunch of the kids he'd infected with demon blood, Sam being one of them. Son of a bitch had everyone fighting for survival. Sam got stabbed in the back and…"

"And you sold your soul to bring him back," Fiona finished, fighting back the angry tirade she longed to throw at Dean. Before Dean could start explaining, she went on. "Dean, I get it, okay? I do. I mean, I'd give my life to save you, Sam, Gibbs… even my Dad. What's really pissing me off right now is the fact that you didn't tell me about this. Not one letter or email, or phone call."

"Where would Sam and I have sent the letter, huh?" Dean snapped in reply, looking over at Fiona. "And email? I mean, do you even _have _a computer out in the field? Or a cell phone?"

Fiona was about to snap back but she stopped, nodding. "Okay, point made. I know I'm hard to get a hold of." Looking at Dean for a second, she turned back to the road and raised her right hand to smack him on the back of the head. "But you still should have told me."

"Yeah," Dean admitted, quietly.

After a long pause, Fiona asked, "So how are you back?"

Dean didn't reply for a while, but finally asked, "Do you believe in angels?"

* * *

Getting out of his car, Gibbs sighed when his cellphone rang. Glancing at the caller ID, he flipped open the phone and snapped, "What, DiNozzo?"

"Uh," Tony sounded hesitant when he heard his boss's tone, but he ignored it and went on. "Dead body in an apartment south of—"

"Yeah, I'll be there later, DiNozzo," Gibbs snapped, irritably.

"I think you should get over here now, boss," Tony replied, insistently.

"Yeah, and why's that?" Gibbs asked, watching Fiona pull into the parking lot at Quantico.

"Victim's name is James Brendan," Tony reported.

Gibbs stiffened at the news but kept his expression neutral as Fiona and Dean got out of Fiona's truck and headed in his direction. When he heard Tony's voice saying 'Boss?', Gibbs just said, quickly, "Be there in a couple hours, DiNozzo," before hanging up the phone.

"Got a case?" Fiona asked, sounding both resigned and dejected.

"Nah, it can wait," Gibbs insisted, giving his goddaughter a smile. Looking Fiona over, he said, "Looking good… Gunny."

"Thanks, Gibbs," Fiona replied, giving him a hug.

* * *

At the apartment of James Brendan, Tony looked put off as he hung up his phone after Gibbs hung up on him. "Okay. That was interesting."

"What's interesting?" McGee asked as he finished up his crime scene photos and put his camera away in his bag.

"That Gibbs wouldn't rush over here as soon as I told him who the victim is," Tony replied, thoughtfully.

"It is nearly 11," Ziva replied, matter-of-factly as she finished with her own photos. Looking at Tony and McGee, she added, "That is when Fiona Brendan is due to receive her promotion, yes?"

"Ahh," Tony said, thinking. "Yeah. Gibbs could have been with her at the time. Giid point, Ziva."

Ziva smiled—admittedly a bit smugly—as she turned back to processing the crime scene. Kneeling down when she saw something on the body, she grabbed a small specimen jar. "I have something here," she announced, collecting a sample of yellow powder.

"What is that?" McGee asked, looking at the contents of the jar.

"That is an excellent question, Timothy," the medical examiner, Donald 'Ducky' Mallard replied, kneeling next to the body as Ziva stood to search the rest of the house. When Ducky touched the substance with a gloved hand, he caught a peculiar smell and carefully sniffing the yellow powder, he looked even more perplexed. "That's odd," he said, quietly.

"What is it?" McGee asked again as he bagged a laptop computer as evidence.

"It smells like sulpher," Ducky replied. "But what it's doing on this man, I haven't the foggiest."

"Tony," Ziva hollered from the kitchen.

Tony joined his coworker as she stood near the counter next to the answering machine. "What do you got?"

Ziva hit the 'play' button on the answering machine and waited until a female voice started speaking. "Dad? It's Fiona."

After listening to the entire message, Tony looked at Ziva who looked grave. "You thinking what I'm thinking?"

"I am thinking that we need to talk to Fiona Brendan," Ziva replied, not wanting to say what she was really thinking.

Tony nodded, ruefully, and pulled off his gloves. "I'm going to go pick her up now, before—"

"Before what?" Ziva wanted to know. "You do not think that Gibbs is involved with this somehow, do you?"

"I don't know," Tony replied, honestly. "What I do know is that if this chick did kill her father, Gibbs will want to protect her."

Ziva nodded in agreement, although as she watched Tony leave the room, she felt a wrenching in her gut. There was something about Fiona Brendan that struck a chord with her but Ziva knew that as an investigator, she could not afford to let her objectivity be compromised by her emotions.

* * *

Gibbs wasn't surprised to see Tony waiting out in the parking lot by Fiona's car right after Fiona's promotion.

But Fiona seemed very surprised when she saw the younger NCIS agent standing by her car. "What's going on?"

"Gunnery Sergeant Fiona Brendan?" Tony asked, showing her his badge as Sam and Dean came up behind Fiona, flanking her. "We need to talk." Seeing Fiona's puzzled look, he added, "It's about your father."

* * *

While Tony and Fiona went into one interrogation room at NCIS Headquarters, Ziva led Sam and Dean Winchester into the other before closing the door and placing two files on the table and sitting down.

Having been with NCIS for more than two years, Ziva had seen her fair share of suspects, persons of interest, and innocent bystanders but the brothers sitting before her seemed both uncomfortable and at ease, something which Ziva found most curious.

Especially when Sam asked, "Are you accusing me and my brother of something, Agent…?"

"David," Ziva replied, giving Sam the slightest smile. "I am a Mossad Liaison Officer attached to NCIS." Opening both files before her, she looked at both Winchester brothers before focusing on Sam. "Samuel Winchester, 26 years old, and formerly a law student at Stanford." Glancing at Dean before opening his file, she went on. "And Dean. 30 years old and a most impressive arrest record."

"If you're not charging us with anything," Sam interrupted. "Then let us go."

Again, Ziva fixed Sam with a look before closing the files and pushing them aside. "You are not being charged with anything." When the brothers had just stood to leave, she added, "But you do need to answer some questions about your friend."

Dean sat back down but instead of his usual attitude, he decided to defer to Sam's judgment on the situation. Knowing all too well that a snarky response could make things harder for Fiona, Dean knew that the best thing to do would be to keep his mouth shut. Although, catching the look from Sam, Dean knew that he'd never live this down.

xxxxxxxxxxx

Fiona wasn't sure what to expect as she sat in Interrogation facing Agent Tony DiNozzo. Admittedly, she was still mentally reeling from the news that her father was dead. Not just dead, but apparently murdered and now she was actually a suspect! Her heart plummeted when Agent DiNozzo placed a digital voice recorder on the table next to her file and started playing the message she'd left on her father's answering machine.

"Dad? It's Fiona. You know, your daughter? The one you promised to meet for lunch, then dinner? I mean, why am I surprised? You have _never_ been there for me. Any time I needed you, there you went—off on another hunting trip. I'm sorry I refuse to leave the Marines, Dad. But guess what? It's _my_ life. So how about from now on, unless you're really, truly going to keep your promise, you stay the hell out of it? Thanks for nothing again, Dad."

Fiona wasn't sure what to say in her defense. She'd been drunk last night when she'd called her father's place, sure, but had she really been that hurtful?

"We also found this—" Tony said, pulling out an evidence container which held the new K-BAR knife Dean had given her. "—with your fingerprints on it along with your father's blood."

Fiona leaned back in her chair for a moment as everything seemed to come crashing down upon her. Rolling her eyes, she finally sighed and said, "Dad and I… we had problems." Leaning forward, tears in her eyes, she insisted, "But I didn't kill him. And the knife was a gift."

Tony didn't say anything for a moment, simply watched Fiona Brendan. His gut told him she was hiding something. Some thing big, and definitely something crucial to the case. But if Fiona didn't spill and Ziva didn't get any useful information out of the Winchesters, there was only one person left to talk to.

And Tony really, _really_ didn't want to have to interrogate Gibbs.


	3. Chapter 3

AUTHOR'S NOTES: Am I the only one geeking out over this week's episode of 'Supernatural'? It's gonna be awesome, I know it.

Ahem! Fangirl moment over, I've actually had this chapter in my head for a while but I've only just had a chance to start writing it.

Just a reminder that this story takes place mid-4th season of Supernatural and mid-5th season of NCIS.

Enjoy, y'all!

Chapter 3

* * *

Getting back to Fiona's townhouse, Dean made a beeline for the guest room and when Sam followed, he was surprised to see his brother pulling out a rumpled suit. "Dean, what are you-?" But Sam was cut off when Dean threw another suit at him.

"Come on, Sammy, get the lead out," Dean snapped, starting to get undressed. "Let's get changed and get over to James' house. Maybe we can find something to help Fi."

Sam tossed his suit on the bed just as Dean pulled the black pants on. "Dean, stop. Just stop. We can't just waltz over there and start poking around."

"Why not?" Dean asked, a snap in his voice. "That's what we always do, Sam. Now come on."

"Dean, it's not that simple," Sam protested. When Dean finally paused, Sam let out a long sigh. "James Brendon was a Marine which makes the case NCIS jurisdiction. If we go over there with FBI IDs they'll kick us out and probably call in the agency director to check why we're there."

Seeing where Sam was going, Dean felt his heart sink as he said, "Then we'll get arrested for impersonating federal agents. Damnit!" Tossing his suit jacket on the bed, he swore again before sitting down on the bed. Looking up at Sam, he said, insistently, "Well, we have to do _something_. Fi's family and I'm sure as Hell not going to let her go to jail for something she didn't do."

"I don't know if there's anything we _can_ do, Dean," Sam sighed, dejectedly.

"There's got to be _something_," Dean insisted as he started to get changed back into his regular clothes.

Sam started to shake his head doubtfully but stopped when he did have one wild thought. "There might be someone." Seeing Dean look up, Sam looked hesitant. "It's a long shot. But right now it's the only chance we've got."

Looking resigned, Dean straightened the collar of his flannel shirt and said, "Sam, if you're talking about Ruby…"

"Not Ruby," Sam assured his brother, knowing how Dean felt about working with the demon, even though she _had_ saved their asses more than a few times. "It's someone else."

"Someone else?" Dean repeated, not sure if he liked the sound of that. "Like another hunter or something?"

Sam grinned, a thought forming in his mind. "Tell you what. I'll give you her name and _you_ can go talk to her while I talk to some of Fi's fellow Marines."

Dean watched Sam write out a name and an address and frowned as he looked at the name. "She's not like some hairy fat chick, is she? Does she even know about what you really do?"

"She knows," Sam replied, with a smile. "Her father was a hunter years ago."

"Okay," Dean said, not really liking the way Sam was smiling right now. It was look Sam got before starting one of their prank wars. Looking at his watch, he said, "Meet back here round 8 tonight? I'll bring dinner, too."

"Sounds good," Sam agreed as he and Dean headed out, Sam agreeing to drop Dean off before heading back to Quantico.

* * *

Dean had no idea what he was in for when he headed down to the lower level of the NCIS Headquarters, a visitor's badge clipped to his shirt. Sam had told him nothing about the gal he was meeting except to say that pissing her off might be dangerous.

Going to the NCIS lab, Dean stepped in, looking around as he heard loud rock music playing. Walking around, he saw a stuffed hippo sitting on a shelf along with what looked like a voodoo doll. There were a few toy skeletons and a few jars of candy sitting on another shelf above a set of computers. Nothing in the room screamed 'forensic scientist' and once again Dean wondered if Sam was setting him up to be the but of a joke.

"Hey! You must be Dean!"

Dean turned at the sound of a woman's voice just as said female came bouncing out of the back of the lab. The woman wore black lipstick and her long, black hair was in pigtails. She wore a _very_ short red plaid skirt with black leggings and platform boots—also black—and a well-worn white lab coat over an old Metallica shirt. "Uh…" Dean hesitated as he also took in the chick's spiked black dog collar and the spiderweb tattoo on her neck. "Abby Scuito?" Dean asked, tentatively.

"Yes," Abby replied with a smile as she approached Dean. "And you're Dean Winchester. Sam's brother." Walking over to the computers, she said, "I've only just started going through all the evidence so there's not much I can tell you." Bringing up the crime scene photos, she went on. "Ducky's just started the autopsy, but I'm pretty sure the cause of death was the big, gaping stab wound in his gut." Bringing up a close-up shot of Fiona's knife, she said, "The fingerprints were kinds of smudged, but I was able to get a match. The deer antler handle had some pretty good ridges to it, so it was hard to get a real clear print, but what prints I found were all wrong for someone holding the knife to stab someone."

Dean felt his mind buzzing as he listened to Abby's rapid-fire delivery and after a while, he frowned, blinking in confusion. "Okay, once more but slower, please."

"Oh, sorry," Abby replied, wincing slightly. Holding up the evidence container, she said, "I wasn't able to get a clear set of prints off of the knife handle, but what I did find doesn't match someone holding the knife in a stabbing position."

"But the prints _do_ match Fi's?" Dean asked, wanting to clarify that point.

"Fiona's prints were _definitely_ on the handle of the knife," Abby confirmed.

"I hear a 'but' in there," Dean said, hopefully.

"But the prints are smudged," Abby replied with a grin. "So it's possible someone wearing gloves picked up the knife and used it to stab James Brendon."

"Great," Dean sighed, wearily, rubbing his face with one hand. "This isn't helping." Looking over at the computer as Abby did something else, he picked up an evidence jar and studied the yellow powder inside. "Sulfur," he said, quietly. Setting down the jar, he pulled out his cell phone as he said, "Son of a bitch."

* * *

Hearing his phone ring, Sam answered as he leaned against the hood of the Impala looking at the Marine Base at Quantico. "Yeah." Frowning when he heard the report from Dean, he said, "Sulfur? Are you sure? What did Abby say about the knife?" After a moment, Sam sighed. "Okay, well, see what else you and Abby can find. I'm at the base now. I'll call you if I find something." Sam hung up just as a very pretty young woman in camo gear walked up to him. "Can I help you, sir?"

Sam straightened up as he put his phone away. "I'm here about the death of James Brendon."

The young, female Marine fixed him with a shrewd stare and she asked, "NCIS?"

"No," Sam replied, quickly. "My brother and I are friends with Gunnery Sergeant Fiona Brendon. The three of us grew up together."

The Marine's expression softened as she held out a hand. "Lance Corporal Genevieve Cortese." With a smile that in no uncertain terms said that she was interested in Sam, she added, "You can call me Jenny."

Blushing a bit at the look from Jenny, Sam shook her hand as he said, "Sam Winchester." Dropping his hand, he asked, "So do you think Fi killed her father?"

"I know she didn't," Jenny replied as she and Sam started walking towards the training ground. "I've known people pissed off at their parents enough to kill, but Fiona's not like that. She doesn't hate her dad."

"Really?" Sam asked, curious about that.

Jenny nodded as she stopped and turned to face Sam. "Fiona was hurt by her father. Rejected. She wanted him to realize that she had to live her own life."

"I know the feeling," Sam muttered, thinking of his own father, John Winchester. "So who do you think _did_ kill James?"

Jenny shrugged. "No idea. I mean Fiona kept saying her father was dealing with his demons or something, so… Who knows?"

xxxxxxxxxxxx

Sam got back to Fiona's place first that night and found Fiona in the living room looking weary. "Hey," he said as she stood. Pulling her into a hug, Sam said, "I'm so sorry, Fi."

"Thanks, Sam," Fiona replied as she hugged Sam back. They went into the kitchen and Fiona sat down as Sam grabbed a couple of beers from the fridge.

"So I talked to a couple of the Marines in your unit," Sam said, giving Fi the report. "None of them believe you killed your dad."

"I could have told you that," Fiona said, miserably as she downed almost half her beer in one go.

"But unless you were possessed," Sam went on, undeterred. "I doubt you actually stabbed James."

Fiona thought for a moment and then shook her head. "Uh, things got a little hazy with all the booze last night but no black-outs," she said, thinking.

"Might have avoided all this if you'd just locked your doors," Dean threw in as he joined the others in the kitchen. Looking at Sam, he added, "Abby told me that Fiver here takes after her godfather in that she almost never locks the doors unless she's on a deployment."

"Dean, I've told you not to call me—"

But Fiona was cut off by Sam who said, "So we have no way of knowing who actually broke in and stole the knife."

"We do know it's a demon," Dean countered, getting himself a beer. "M.E. found sulfur on the body."

"Wait a second," Fiona said going out to the living room and grabbing a package from a stack of mail. Bringing it back to the kitchen, she said, "Dad FedEx'd me this the other day. I was kinda pissed at him so I never opened it." Pulling out her pocket knife she opened the package pulling out a folded letter and an old leather-bound journal with a Devil's Trap stamped on the cover.

Dean had an uncomfortable sense of déjà vu when he saw the journal, remembering when his dad left Sam and Dean an old journal filled with notes and various news clippings.

"Aw, Hell, Dad…" Fiona muttered reading the letter. Handing the letter over to Sam, she sighed. "Dad thought a demon was after me. And just in case, he sent me his journal."

"Did he say what the demon's name was?" Dean asked, looking at the hunter's journal.

"Yeah," Sam said, darkly, as he handed Dean the letter. "He did."

"Oh, shit," Dean said, as he finished looking over the letter. Looking at Fiona he said, "Okay, go pack up whatever you need to. We're getting out of town."

Fiona scoffed and crossed her arms over her chest. "I'm not going anywhere."

"Look, this isn't a debate!" Dean said, fear thick in his voice.

Fiona lowered her arms and leaned towards Dean as she said, "You know the demon Dad's talking about."

"Yeah, we know it," Dean said, quickly, as he stood, taking Fiona's arm. "Come on. We're going. Now."

"No," Fiona said, defiantly, jerking her arm oout of Dean's grip. "Dean, what the hell is going on?"

Dean and Sam exchanged looks and Dean sighed when he saw Sam's 'we have to tell her' nod. Dean closed his eyes, feeling the internal struggle inside. Fiona was _out_. She wasn't a hunter anymore and she had a great future… a _life_.

But it was a life that was in jeopardy now.

Dean opened his eyes and sighed. "Alright," he replied, resigned. "The demon's name is Lilith. Right now she's breaking the 66 Seals needed to break Lucifer out of Hell and start the Apocalypse. I don't know what she wants with you but I do know that you wouldn't stand a chance against her. So right now the only thing I can think of to keep you alive is to make a run for it."

"I'm not running, Dean," Fiona insisted, getting off her barstool. "I've never run from anything in my life and there's no freaking way I'm going to start now!"

"You ran from being a hunter," Dean said, calmly. "I get it, okay? Sam tried the same thing but we all know that it's not that easy." Looking Fiona in the eye, he added, "You can't have a normal life anymore, Fiona. Believe me, I wish to God you could. But not right now. Not with Lilith gunning for you. Because whatever else her plans are, she _will_ find you and she _will _kill you."

"Dean, I'm a suspect in a _murder investigation_!" Fiona shouted, angrily. "I run off, it's like saying that I'm guilty."

"Fi…" Dean began but seeing the resolution in Fiona's eyes, he sighed and closed his eyes, bowing his head in resignation. After a moment, he opened his eyes and nodded at Fiona. "Okay. We'll stay. But the first sign of Lilith and we're out of here, okay? All three of us."

Fiona started to argue but seeing that Dean wasn't going to budge of the issue she sighed. "Fine." Finishing her beer, she muttered, "My CO's going to have my ass for breakfast when I tell him I'm resigning _now_."


	4. Chapter 4

AUTHOR'S NOTES: In this story I'm thinking of temporarily pairing Dean and Abby. Should be fun to write.

Also, a reminder: Sam, Dean, and Fiona all have nicknames based on the book 'Watership Down'. Fiona's is Fiver, Sam's is Hazel, and Dean's is Bigwig.

The lyrics later in the chapter are from Heather Nova's song "It's Only Love".

CHAPTER SUMMARY: Lilith makes her presence known and Sam and Fiona get closer.

Chapter 4

* * *

"What do you got, Abbs?" Gibbs asked as he came into Abby's lab and handed her a large travel cup of Caf-Pow.

Abby was grinning which to Gibbs was a good sign. It meant either that she'd found something that qualified as really good news or something that was really unusual. With Gibbs' luck lately, it was probably both.

Seeing that Gibbs wasn't in the mood for the usual banter, Abby brought up the fingerprints from the handle of Fiona's knife. "I matched the prints on the knife handle to Fiona but there were a lot of smudged partials. I thought they were from Fiona but when I double checked…" Bringing up the prints on the plasma screen, she went on. "I found another print that was in better shape. It doesn't belong to Fiona but it does belong to—" With a few deft keystrokes, she brought up a 'missing persons' notice showing a pretty 11-year-old blonde girl with her curly hair in pigtails. "Candace Day. Went missing almost a week ago after the bloody murders of her parents and two older sisters."

"Any connection to James?" Gibbs asked. Why would a _kid_ want to kill one his best friends?

"None," Abby reported as she turned to Gibbs. After closing and locking the door to her lab, she led Gibbs into the ballistics lab and closed the door behind her.

"What's going on, Abbs?" Gibbs asked, wondering what was with all the secrecy.

"I know what's going on, Gibbs," Abby replied, quickly. "Well, not that I know what's going on _exactly_ but I know what's going on that you're not saying. I've known for a while, actually."

It took Gibbs a moment to get the gist of what Abby was saying but finally he understood. "You know about demons?"

"My father was a hunter," Abby explained. "He lost his hearing in an explosion when I was 8." Looking at Gibbs, she asked, "How do you know about all this stuff?'

Gibbs knew he should probably tell Abby how he knew about the supernatural world, but even here in the soundproof ballistics lab he didn't feel safe telling her just then. "It's a long story, Abby."

"I need to know, Gibbs," Abby insisted.

* * *

"Alright, thanks, Gibbs," Sam said as he hung up his phone. Sitting in Fiona's kitchen he had a bad feeling about staying in town. Based on the fingerprint analysis, it looked like Lilith _was_ in town and had indeed killed James Brendon. But it didn't make any sense. Fiona wasn't a hunter so why would Lilith be after her?

"Hey, Sammy," Dean said as he came into the kitchen with Fiona. "What's up?" Seeing the look on his brother's face Dean knew that it wasn't good news. "Abby find something else?"

"Yeah," Sam replied, looking from Fiona to Dean. "Another set of fingerprints on the knife handle."

"That's good news, right?" Fiona asked, not sure why Sam looked a bit freaked and Dean looked like he wanted to be gone yesterday.

"The other prints match an 11-year-girl who's been missing for a week," Sam replied, giving Dean a look.

"Crap," Dean said, looking worried. Turning to Fiona, he added, "Okay, Fi. You remember the deal. We're going. Now."

"Why would a kid want to kill Dad?" Fiona asked, confused.

"Because it wasn't a kid, Fi!" Dean said, frustrated that Fiona wasn't listening to him. Didn't she understand that Lilith wasn't your ordinary demon? "Okay? That was Lilith wearing that girl as a meat suit! It's a _game_ to her!"

"Why _me_, Dean?" Fiona said, trying ignore the panic building up inside her. "You say this demon is seriously bad-ass so why does she want _me_?"

"Trust me, Fi," Sam assured her. "If we knew anything we'd tell you. We don't know why you're involved in this."

"Well, then let's find out," Fiona replied, heading out of the kitchen and motioning for the two brothers to follow her. She led them down to the basement of the townhouse and to a padlocked door. Pulling on a chain around her neck, she untangled it from the chain her dog tags hung from and removed the old, silver chain from which a silver key hung. Unlocking the door, she opened it and hit the light switch just inside.

Dean let out an appreciative whistle as he walked the armory. There were shotguns—both sawed-off models and regular ones—rifles, handguns, crossbows, and entire wall dedicated to knives of all sizes. "You know, I was going to ask why you had such a small basement."

"Had this part walled off shortly after I got the place," Fiona said, grabbing a few knives and guns. "Figured it was a good place to stash my weaponry."

"Okay," Dean said, looking around. "So, uh… just pack up what you need and let's scram."

"Dean, I'm not running," Fiona insisted. "Okay? I'm going to hunt this demon bitch and kill I'm going to kill her myself."

Dean scoffed at that and replied, "Yeah, great idea. And how are you going to kill her? This isn't your average demon, okay? Seriously, we should have bolted yesterday."

"Dean, if Lilith really wants me then running isn't going to help," Fiona insisted.

Sam sighed resignedly as he realized that Fiona had a point. The best thing they could do now was try and figure out just what Lilith wanted with Fiona. "Dean, she's right," Sam said, giving his brother a look. "We need to figure out what's going on before we can think about an escape plan."

Dean looked like he wanted to argue the issue but seeing the resolved expressions on Sam and Fiona's faces, he sighed, defeated. "Okay, fine." Pointing a finger at Sam, he said, "I'm going to see if I can talk to Abby again. You keep an eye on your girlfriend," he added with a smirk.

"She's not my girlfriend," Sam protested.

Dean grinned at Sam and Fiona as he shrugged. "If you say so."

"So how did you like Abby?" Sam asked with a smirk.

"Okay, you know what?" Dean said, pointing a finger at his brother again. "That chick maybe off her rocker but if she can get Fiver off the hook, I could give a crap what she looks like or how crazy she is."

Fiona started towards Dean but Sam held her back. "Go, Dean. We'll be fine here."

"See you later, Hazel," Dean replied as he headed for the basement stairs.

Turning to Fiona, Sam jumped a bit when he saw a dark-haired man wearing a rumpled suit and a tan trenchcoat. "Jeez, Cas! Little warning next time?"

Fiona jumped slightly as well when she saw Castiel and she found his stare to be incredibly unnerving as the angel's blue eyes seemed to bore into her. "So you're Castiel, huh? Nice to meet ya. What the Hell are you doing here?"

"You need to leave now," Castiel told Sam, his voice gravelly but monotone. Looking from Sam to Fiona, he added, "Both of you. Lilith is searching for you and if she finds you—"

"Okay," Fiona said, exasperation thick in her voice. "For the 10th time: Why the Hell does this Lilith want to kill me? Does she have something against Marines or what?"

Castiel looked at Sam who seemed to want an answer to the question as well. With an annoyed sigh, he said, "Lilith believes that Fiona stands in the way of brining forth Lucifer." Turning his gaze towards Fiona, he added, "And she will kill you when she finds you."

"Okay, but why Fi?" Sam asked, even more confused.

"I don't know," Castiel admitted, regretfully. Giving both of them a pointed look, he added, "But I do know that you both have to leave here. Now."

"Nice try," Fiona replied, stubbornly. "But Dean's not getting me to leave which means that there's no way in Hell, _you're_ getting me to."

Castiel was used to Dean Winchester's stubbornness. The man always seemed to insist that he knew better and refused to act on the advice of those who had been around for millennia. But until now, Castiel believed that Dean was the worst.

And then he met Fiona Brendon—a woman who seemed dead set on facing Lilith even knowing that the demon would likely kill her. Trying to emphasize the severity of the situation, he repeated. "Lilith will hunt you down and will likely torture you for information before finally killing you."

"Well, bring it on," Fiona threw back as she locked up her armory and put the key back around her neck. ''Cause I'm not running anywhere."

Castiel turned to Sam who looked apologetic. "Sam, for once—do what I am telling you."

But before Sam could reply, the angel had winged off. Turning to Fiona who had headed for the stairs, he grabbed her arm. "Hey, wait."

"Sam, I'm not going anywhere," Fiona insisted. Although honestly she did want to run away from all this. Iraq and Afghanistan had been grueling but at least it was a simpler world.

"Yeah, you're right: You're not," Sam agreed, still keeping a firm, yet gentle grip on Fiona's arm. "Not until you tell me what's going on with you."

"My father was killed by a demon and I'm a murder suspect," Fiona snapped, yanking her arm from Sam's grasp. "That kind of thing tends to put me on edge."

"No, it's more than that," Sam insisted. He'd seen it as Fiona's promotion ceremony and in her eyes when he'd first seen her a few days ago. "What happened over there?"

Fiona sighed, wearily. She hated telling the story over and over—first to her CO, then to NCIS… Sitting on the stairs, she looked up at Sam. "My unit had just wrapped up what we were doing over in Iraq. We split into two teams and headed for our rendezvous point near Baghdad where we were going to catch a carrier flight home."

Standing up, Fiona walked around the basement for a moment. After a while, she stopped and leaned against the door of her armory. "We came across a whole line of IEDs. Lost about 20 men and women in the initial blast. We made a make-shift medical station and started treating the wounded. Problem was… no one who made it had any medical training except for this one First Class Private who had worked for 3 years at a veterinary office before joining up."

Sam watched Fiona as she slowly sank back down onto the stairs. She looked older than 34 years old and her eyes clearly said that whatever had happened, she couldn't let it go. Instead of prompting Fi when she stopped talking, Sam simply sat next to her on the stairs, waiting for her to continue the story.

"Jason and I worked best we could," Fiona finally went on, recounting the events. "Tried to field train as many people as we could to help. Supplies were running low and we were having to send people out to look for help or food or water. Reinforcements were about two weeks out and we were on our own outside of this tiny village."

Resting her elbows on her knees, she paused a moment before going on. "Jason had been awake for almost 48 hours straight and I wasn't much better. He gave this corporal the wrong drugs and the guy died." Looking at Sam, Fiona tried to explain. "It wasn't really anyone's fault. We were tired and we were just trying to keep the number of casualties down." Looking away, she added, "The next night Jason went missing for almost 24 hours. I finally found him… sitting on a boulder over looking camp… holding his Glock and aiming it at himself."

Sam could see the tears silently falling down Fiona's cheek and he wordlessly took her hand in his and squeezed lightly.

Fiona took a deep breath and went on. "He saw me and said that he was sorry. That he should do it before he killed someone else. I talked to him for hours before he finally handed over his gun and agreed to come back to camp." Turning to Sam again, she said, "That kid was a real hero. I don't know why they gave _me_ the promotion. I don't deserve it. Jason did."

"You were there, too," Sam protested. "You helped save people, too."

"I guess," Fiona replied, shrugging half-heartedly. Without really knowing why, she laid her head on Sam's shoulder and felt him put an arm around her. After a moment of sitting like that, she raised her head, looking into Sam's hazel eyes. God, she wanted to feel something—anything—other than the guilt and pain she felt.

Sam stared into Fiona's green eyes and after a slight hesitation, bent his head down slightly and his lips met Fiona's in a tender kiss. It had been so long since he'd allowed himself to feel something so good. And even with the less-than-ideal circumstances, Sam wanted to revel in being with Fiona again. He wanted to tell her he loved her. He wanted to be with her more than any other girl he'd ever known: more than Jess or Sarah… even more than Ruby.

Slowly winding her arms around Sam's neck, Fiona could feel warm passion bubbling up inside of her, spreading through her entire body. Sam held her close and she wanted to feel a connection to someone again. She needed that contact now more than ever.

They slowly stood, still in the midst of the passionate kiss and Sam pushed Fiona up against the wall, his hands sliding underneath her shirt and pulling it off while she undid his belt and the zipper of his jeans.

'_I used to think that I knew what we needed_

_I just assumed we would always be fine_

_Now I don't think that we've lost the feeling_

_But we've let everything build up inside'_

Sam and Fiona didn't make it upstairs to the bedroom. They made love on the basement floor, the cement cold against their warm bodies, causing their skin to occasionally erupt in goosebumps.

'_It's only love_

_But love should make us strong_

_It's only love_

_But love has been hurting so long'_

There was something building deep within Sam as he kissed every inch of Fiona's skin, his big, rough, hands caressing her body with surprising tenderness. He could almost feel whatever it was burning hot with a warmth that seemed to touch his very soul, shining light on the darkness that he knew he carried deep inside him. Sam needed this more than anything else in the world, the addiction even stronger than the pull of demon blood.

'_There's a part of you I'm trying to reach_

_Still a part I don't know_

_Tell me—is devotion a gift or a thief?_

_Do you wish I'd let go?'_

Fiona had seen the darkness in Sam's eyes the other day. A darkness she'd seemed almost afraid of, most likely brought on from hunting without Dean…

Or was it? Fiona couldn't really care at the moment as she felt wave after wave of bliss wash over her, wiping away the horrible memories of Iraq and the reality of her father's murder.

_This_ was what made life worth living, she knew as Sam kissed her bare hips. And this is what she would hold onto forever, apocalypse or not.

xxxxxxx

Outside the townhouse, a young woman with dark brown hair stood, her very essence reaching out to the man in the basement. She frowned, not happy about the intimate couple. This could ruin all her plans! And Lilith knew this. Knew that Fiona Brendon would slowly draw Sam Winchester out of the darkness.

The look on Ruby's face was resolved as she turned and walked away. Fiona had to be stopped by any means necessary.


	5. Chapter 5

AUTHOR'S NOTES: Since the brotherly relationship of Sam and Dean is firmly established, I wanted to have a few family moments showing just how my character Fiona Brendon fits in with the brothers.

Chapter 5

* * *

It was late when Dean finally got back to Fiona's house—well after 2am, in fact. He would've gotten back sooner but he'd asked Abby out for a drink and to his surprise she'd accepted. That had been at10. After too many drinks and almost 3 hours of hunter talk, Dean had declined Abby's offer for a late night romp and had made his way back to the townhouse.

Heading up to the spare bedroom, Dean froze when he heard something coming from Fi's room. Opening the door slowly in case she was asleep, he peeked in and saw her tossing around fitfully, muttering in her sleep. But before Dean could debate whether to just go back to his room, Fi's cries grew panicked. "No! Dad! Dad!"

Instinct and memories of when they were kids kicked in and Dean hurried over to her and just as he touched her arm, she bolted upright, eyes wide and fearful. "No!"

"Fi, it's okay! You're awake. It's okay," Dean assured her, calmly. "Easy, there, Fiver."

Fiona was still breathing heavily, the memory of the nightmare still looming. Drawing her knees up to her chest, she buried her face in her hands, trying to will her breathing back to normal. It had been a long time since a dream had taken over her like that.

Dean watched Fiona for a while and when he heard footsteps, he looked up to see Sam in the doorway looking concerned. After a moment, when Fiona still looked pretty shaken up, Dean stripped off his jacket and shoes before emptying his pockets. "Okay, Fiver. Budge over."

Fi looked up, puzzled, but she shook her head when Dean sat down on one side of her and Sam sat down on the other. "No, guys…" she complained. "I'm fine."

"When was the last time you had a nightmare?" Dean asked, laying down on the bed. Looking at Fi, he added, "Not a bad dream. A nightmare."

"Dean," Fi protested, weakly.

"Come on, Fiver," Dean insisted with a smile. "Slumber party time. You know how this works."

Fi wanted to protest—plus the fact that even with the queen size bed there was barely enough room for the three of them—but with a resigned sigh, she lay back down, and felt Sam pull her close so that her head was resting on his chest.

Dean didn't say anything as he tried to get comfortable, putting an arm around Fi as he faced her back.

It had started when they first met, when their fathers would drop them off with Bobby to go on a hunt. Someone—Fi, Sam, or Dean (and occasionally Kelly if they'd been left with Gibbs' wife, Shannon)—would have a nightmare and wouldn't go back to sleep unless there was someone there in the bed with them.

Although, technically it was Dean who had started it, he realized as he started gently stroking Fi's hair. Shortly after his mother's death, Dean started sleeping in Sam's bed to keep his little brother from having nightmares.

Even as they got older, when Sam was sick or had a nightmare, Dean would lay down with his brother and if Fiona was with them, she'd be right there on the other side.

Sure, now they were all adults and sleeping together in one bed was a little creepy perhaps, but Dean figured that some familiar comfort was needed. Plus, as he lay in the same bed as his brother and the girl who was practically his sister, he felt like his life had taken a much needed step back. This felt like old times—simpler times when things seemed better. Before Dad and Sam died… before Hell…

Lying in the dark, listening to Sam and Fi's slow and steady breaths, Dean closed his eyes and tried to let his mind go back to better days. After a while, he finally fell asleep.

* * *

_22 Years Ago_

Hunting the poltergeist had taken longer than either John Winchester or James Brendon had thought, and both were eager to see their kids again. Driving back to Sioux Falls, South Dakota to where they'd left Fiona, Dean, and Sam with another hunter—Bobby Singer—James looked over at John. "How're you holding up?"

"I don't know," John replied with a weary sigh. "Some reason I thought I'd have found whatever killed Mary by now." Rubbing his face with one hand, he added, "I don't know how you do it. I'm tired, man. I'm just running on fumes."

From behind the wheel of John's '67 Chevy Impala, James gave a dry chuckle. "This job ain't for wusses, I'll tell ya that." Giving John a smirk, he added, "'Course, the Marines aren't for wusses either."

John gave a reluctant smile and nodded. "No, that's true. Speaking of which, you heard anything from Jethro?"

"Shipped out to Iraq again last months," James replied. After a while, he looked over at John. "You miss it? The three of us against the world?"

John would have been lying if he'd said 'no' but the more hunting he did the more he realized that he and James were against the world. A cruel, supernatural world where creatures could kill you, chew you up, and spit out your eyeballs like watermelon seeds. But there were times when John wondered why the hell he was chasing after whatever had killed his wife. Why didn't he just walk away, settle down somewhere and start a new life? He and James weren't the only hunters out there and even if he found what had killed Mary it wouldn't bring her back.

James could tell that John was lost in his thoughts and didn't say anything else. James had gotten into hunting after a werewolf had ripped the heart out of a friend's chest and he'd left the Marines shortly thereafter to find the thing. At first, James had thought about just leaving Fiona with Jethro and Shannon but once Fi had been introduced to Dean and baby Sammy, she'd bonded with the boys immediately.

After a long silence, James sighed. "Look, I've been thinking, John. Maybe we should just take a few days off, you know? Find a decent motel, do something with the kids. We could all use the downtime."

John gave his best friend a dry laugh. "You think I'm burning out already?"

James shook his head. "No, I just think we both need to spend sometime being fathers and not just hunters."

John nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I'll give you that. And I could use a break."

"Take the kids to an amusement park," James added with a smile. "Eat in a real restaurant."

"Sounds like fun," John admitted although he wasn't sure it was the best idea. Or maybe it was, he finally decided as he turned onto the road that led to the Singer Salvage Yard. Maybe he needed some time off to get his head back in gear.

After parking the car, John and James headed up to the front door and lightly knocked. It was after 11pm but Bobby was usually something of a night owl. Sure enough, after a minute or two, Bobby opened up the door and let the other two men in.

"Everything taken care of?" Bobby asked, leading John and James into the kitchen and grabbing three beers out of the fridge.

John took his beer gratefully and popped the top off before taking a long swig.

"Kids give you any problems?" James asked, before taking a sip of his own beer.

"Nothing I couldn't handle," Bobby assured him. "They went to bed about an hour ago."

While James and Bobby discussed the poltergeist, John wordlessly set his beer down on the table and headed upstairs to the guest room and quietly opened the door, unable to hide his smile when he saw the three kids asleep in the queen size bed.

Sammy was curled up with a teddy bear, one ear in the little boy's mouth.

Dean's 8-year-old self was almost curled around his little brother and he had a protective arm around him.

And Fiona was lying on her side facing Dean's back, one arm around both boys.

Closing the door, John couldn't help the nagging thought in the back of his mind. He'd have to tell the boys what was really out there. They'd need to know how to fight. But thinking of how peaceful both boys had looked, John sighed. He could put that off just a little while longer.

* * *

_Present Day_

Fiona awoke with an oddly confined feeling. One look and she saw why. Her back was against Sam's chest and Dean was facing her, an arm carelessly thrown over her. Sam's arm was across her and his hand was on Dean's side.

After being extremely careful not to wake the brothers, Fi managed to wiggle down the bed and when she finally stood up, she stifled a laugh as Sam and Dean snuggled closer to each other even though they were still sound asleep. Pulling her camera out of the top drawer of her dresser, she snapped a couple quick photos before getting dressed and heading downstairs to make coffee.

After a few moments, she hollered, "Who wants coffee?" There was a silence and Fiona burst out laughing when she heard Sam and Dean.

"Dude! Man, get off me, Sammy!"

"Hey, _you_ were cuddling _me_, Dean!"

When the two finally came downstairs, Dean gave Sam a look and before Fiona knew what was going on, Sam had swept forward and grabbed her around the waist, turning her upside down before Dean started tickling her. In between laughing, Fiona tried kicking at Sam and Dean but then Dean grabbed her left foot and wrenched off her sneaker and sock before mercilessly tickling her foot. "Let go, Dean! Come on, I'm sorry! Uncle, okay? Uncle!"

"Did you take pictures?" Sam asked, still holding Fi upside down.

"No!" Fi shouted, laughing as Dean continued his assault. "No pict—" But when Dean started on her ankle—her absolute worst tickle spot—she said, "Yes, there's pictures! On my digital camera, Damnit! Now put me down!"

Sam let Fiona down to the floor and before he knew what hit him, she tackled him to the ground, kicking off a wrestling match in the middle of the kitchen.

Dean was tempted to call 'break' when he heard the door open but instead just walked over to see Gibbs coming in. "Might want to avoid the kitchen just now," Dean advised hearing quite a few creative curses coming from Fiona. "Fiver and Hazel are in the middle of something."

But Gibbs' curiosity was peaked and he followed the noise, stopping when he saw Fiona pinning Sam to the ground.

Fi looked up and jumped off of Sam. "Gibbs. Er…. What brings you by?"

Gibbs grinned at his goddaughter and finally said, "Well, I thought I've give you the news that you're no longer a murder suspect."

Fiona's eyes widened at that and when she saw the astonished looks on Sam and Dean's faces, she asked, "So who… Who was it?

"I was hoping you could tell me," Gibbs replied, holding out a file.

Fi opened the file and looked at the picture of a very pretty girl with wavy black hair. "I have no idea who she is."

When Sam and Dean looked over her shoulder at the file, they exchanged looks before Dean said, "Her name's Ruby. She's a demon."

Gibbs wasn't sure what to say to that and when he thought bout what John and James had told him about demons the idea of one just waltzing into NCIS headquarters and confessing to murder didn't sit right at all. He wanted to know just who this demon was and why she'd kill James Brendon.

But catching the looks going between Dean and Sam, Gibbs was also curious why Dean seemed almost happy that this Ruby had confessed and why Sam looked worried about something.

But Gibbs pushed his other thoughts aside as he looked at Fiona who seemed fairly overwhelmed. "Ducky's released your father's body. I don't know what you'd planned as far as a funeral."

"Thanks, Gibbs," Fiona said quietly and she gave her godfather a hug.

"Let me know if you need anything," Gibbs said, as he hugged her back.

Fiona just nodded in thanks and when Gibbs was gone, she went out into the backyard alone to think. She remembered the first major fight she'd had with her father over hunting. She'd just turned 18 and was dead set on joining the Marines. And her dad hadn't been happy when he found out that his old friend Jethro Gibbs had encouraged the notion.

And then there had been the last time Fiona had ever really talked to her dad when he'd called her while she was on leave and James had dropped the bombshell that John Winchester was tracking down the demon that had killed Mary. "It's all hands on deck, Fiona," James had said, firmly. "That means you, too."

But she'd refused and had ended her leave early, shipping out to Afghanistan two days later.

And now Fiona's life as a Marine was ending. The other day she had indeed gone to her commanding officer and while he's been upset and disappointed that she was leaving the Marine right after her promotion he did seem to understand when she'd told him that other family obligations had re-arisen.

Hearing someone clearing their throat, Fiona looked around as she saw Dean come outside. "What, Dean?" she said, wearily.

"You know what the weirdest part of you, me, and Sam is?" Dean asked, as he simply stood next to Fiona, his hands in his pockets. "That even though you've got four years on me I still always felt like I was your big brother, too." Looking over at Fi he saw that she was unusually still. Looking away, facing the back yard, he went on. "Even when we were kids, I always looked out for you. Tried to protect you like I did with Sammy."

"You didn't have to do that," Fiona replied, quietly.

"No, I didn't," Dean agreed. "You were always good and looking out for yourself. And you never asked for help, even when you needed it. You and Sam are a lot alike that way." As he looked at the yard, a part of him wondered what it would be like to live in a place like this. To have real neighbors, a couple kids… someone to come home to…

But much as he wanted to dwell on his pleasant thoughts, he knew he had to finish telling Fi what he'd come out here to. "I'm not the one who can save Sammy, Fi," he admitted, even though just thinking it made him feel sick. Sam had been his responsibility for almost 30 years and now he was passing the baton.

"Is this a bad time to tell you Sam and I had sex in the basement the other night?" Fiona asked, looking at Dean with a smile on her face.

Dean wasn't sure what to say to that, especially since he'd spent his whole life looking at Fiona like a sister. But when he thought about the talk he'd had with Castiel last night and the brief conversation with Sam a few minutes ago, he sighed. Things were changing. And even though Dean was a creature of habit, he figured that he would have to change, too.


	6. Chapter 6

CHAPTER SUMMARY: Castiel pops in and drops a bombshell on Dean and Ruby has news. Later on, Sam and Ziva investigate a job and Dean and Tony DiNozzo get into a pissing match.

Also, I've discovered PROOF that NCIS and Supernatural were meant to be combined! On my document labels on my computer I can either abbreviate as NCISSPN or SPNNCIS. Coincidence? Unlikely!

Chapter 6

* * *

_The Previous Night_

On the way back to Fiona's townhouse, Dean's mind had been running through everything that had happened the past few days and he just wanted to get the hell out of Dodge before Lilith made her presence known in a very bloody way.

But of course Fi wasn't about to run away and honestly, Dean hadn't expected anything less. When he, Fiona, and Sam had been hunting a ghost when they were kids years ago, Fiona had managed to finally destroy the violent spirit even though she'd broken her ankle, Dean had dislocated his left shoulder and broken a couple ribs, and Sam was bleeding from a gash on his head.

"Hello, Dean."

Dean was beyond grateful that there was no one else on the road at the moment as the sudden appearance of the angel, Castiel, in his passenger seat had caused Dean to slam on the brakes. "Cas! Don't DO that, you dick!"

"You do know that Fiona is the only one who can truly save your brother?" Castiel asked, looking at Dean, his blue eyes gazing without any emotion at all.

"What?" Dean asked, looking at Castiel sharply. All the crap Cas had said about stopping Sam from going Dark Side—now Dean was finding out that it was Fiona who was supposed to save his brother? "What the hell are you talking about?"

After a moment, Castiel looked over at Dean who had turned his attention back to the road as he started driving again. "Your whole life, Dean, you have been ordered to protect your brother's life. But Fiona has a similar destiny: To protect Sam's _soul_."

Dean wasn't sure what to say to that and he rubbed his face with one hand. This whole mess was getting stickier and stickier. Looking over at the passenger seat, Dean gave an exasperated sigh when he saw that the trenchcoat-wearing angel was gone.

But glancing in the rearview mirror, Dean slammed on the brakes again, offering a silent apology to his baby as he did so. Turning around to look at the brunette now sitting in the backseat of the Impala, he said, irritably, "You got a lot of nerve showing up here right now."

"You're telling me," Ruby grumbled as Dean started driving again. "I almost popped in with that angel in the passenger seat."

"Yeah, that wouldn't have been good," Dean muttered, sarcastically, under his breath. Glancing at Ruby again, he snapped, "What do you want?"

"I want to help you," Ruby snapped back. "Look, I don't have long. Those feds are probably coming back to Interrogation for me any second. You've got to get them to let me talk to Sam."

"And why the hell would I do that?" Dean asked, knowing that the only reason he didn't snuff Ruby right then was because by the time he had a clear shot she'd be gone.

"Let me talk to Sam and I'll explain everything," Ruby insisted.

Before Dean could say anything else, Ruby was gone. "Getting _real_ tired of working with that hell-bitch," he grumbled as he headed back to the townhouse.

* * *

_Present_

An hour after Dean relayed Ruby's message, Sam Winchester found himself wearing an NCIS visitor's badge and sitting in one of the interrogation rooms facing Ruby who looked more than a little pissed. "Ruby, why are you doing this?" Sam asked, wanting to understand why the demon facing him would cop to a murder she hadn't committed. Self-sacrifice never seemed to be in Ruby's nature after all.

"Look, don't worry about _me_, alright?" Ruby snapped, irritably. God, she could still smell that bitch, Fiona, all over Sam. Jumping right into things, she said, quietly, "This girl—Anna Milton—escaped from a locked mental ward last night. Demons seem pretty keen on finding her. Apparently some really heavy hitters showed up for the Easter egg hunt."

"Why?" Sam asked, leaning forward and resting his arms on the table. "Who is she?"

"No idea," Ruby replied, shaking her head. Whether she wanted to admit it or not, the fact that Anna Milton was wanted by demons unnerved her a bit. "But I'm thinking she's important because the order is to capture her _alive_."

That got a raised eyebrow out of Sam and he nodded. "Alright. We'll check it out." After a moment, he asked, "What about you?"

"I told you," Ruby replied, trying to keep her temper under control. "I've got a plan."

For some reason, Sam didn't exactly like the sound of that but he figured the less he knew, the better. Standing up, Sam went over to the door, but before he opened it, he turned and looked at Ruby.

"I'll get out of this, Sam," Ruby insisted. "Go." Once Sam had left the room, Ruby leaned back in her chair. Sure, she had a plan. The only catch would be if there wasn't another brain-dead girl in a hospital nearby.

Once out of the interrogation room, Sam was surprised to find his path blocked by Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo. "Something wrong?"

"Who's Anna Milton?" Tony asked, fixing Sam with a look.

"I don't know," Sam replied, trying to use his height to intimidate Tony but to no avail. "That's what I need to find out."

Tony could admire Sam trying to be intimidating but after working with Gibbs for so many years, Tony was more amused than intimidated. "You know I was a cop in Baltimore before I started here at NCIS?" Tony said, keeping his tone casual.

"Really?" Sam replied, not exactly interested in the subject, but rather where Tony was going with the conversation.

Tony went on, watching Sam Winchester's face for a reaction as he said, "I was telling an old friend—Detective Diane Ballard—about how you and your brother were part of an investigation. Know what she said to me?"

"Not the slightest clue," Sam replied, keeping his expression as neutral as possible.

"She said that I should just let you and your brother handle things," Tony went on. "That you and Dean have more experience with this sort of thing." Still looking for some sort of tell or reaction, he asked, "Know what she might have meant by that?"

Still not betraying any emotion, Sam fixed Tony with a look and replied, "I think she meant that you and your team may be good at solving crimes but there are some things you should just leave to the professionals."

After letting Sam pass by, Tony watched him disappear around the corner before heading down to Abby's lab. Gibbs knew something about the Winchesters and Tony was willing to bet anything that if Gibbs knew, then Abby knew as well.

xx

Up in the squad room, Sam looked from McGee to Ziva, wondering who would be the more approachable. On the one hand, he could probably charm Ziva into helping him but on the other, Agent McGee seemed to be a fellow computer geek.

"Can I help you with something?" Ziva asked, looking at Sam with a mixture of intrigue and 'what are you doing here?'.

"Yeah," Sam replied, cursing himself as cool and charming seemed to fly straight out the window as he studied Ziva. Her hair was dark brown but not quite black and her eyes were the color of dark chocolate. "Uh… I was wondering if you could look someone up for me," Sam said, hopefully. After a moment, he noticed Ziva looking expectant and he gave a nervous laugh. "Right. Her name's Anna Milton."

"Wow," McGee said, sounding impressed as he looked over at Sam.

"'Wow', what, McGee?" Ziva asked as she brought up Anna Milton's record.

"I've just never seen anyone act like that around a woman except for Tony," McGee replied with a smile as he returned to his work.

Ziva surreptitiously glanced at Sam as he pulled a chair over to her desk and sat down and smirked when she noticed the faint blush on his face. "So who is the girl?" Ziva asked, looking at Anna Milton's records.

"No idea," Sam replied, a little distracted as he read over the information.

Despite her initial feelings towards Sam Winchester—that he'd had something to do with the murder of James Brendon—Ziva was starting to wonder what was really going on. After a moment, she printed out the file and stood, grabbing her coat. "Come with me," she said, briskly, to Sam.

"Where are we going?" Sam asked, confused.

McGee was confused as well as he watched Ziva and Sam leave the squad room. When Tony came up from the stairs, he also looked around, curiously.

"Where's Ziva?" Tony asked, noticing that his partner's desk was vacant.

"She left with Sam Winchester just a second ago," McGee replied.

"She say where she was going?" Tony asked, going to his desk.

"Nope," McGee said, shaking his head. Looking worried, he asked, "You think something's wrong?"

Tony didn't say anything as he went over to Ziva's computer and brought up the search history. After a few moments, he stood and looked at McGee. "Probie, you're with me."

"Um, okay," McGee said, unsure of what was going on. But he stood, nevertheless, and grabbed his badge and SIG. "Where are we going?"

"Anna Milton's house," Tony replied as he and McGee got in the elevator.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

The Brookhaven Mental Health Center was the first stop for Ziva and Sam. When Ziva pulled into a parking space she was tempted to ask Sam to stay put but before she could say anything, he was already out of the car and pulling what looked like a badge out of his back pocket.

Before Sam could react, Ziva had slipped over to Sam's side of the car and whisked the badge out of his hands. Giving it a glance, she raised an eyebrow and said, "FBI? And how did you manage that?"

"Trick of the trade," Sam replied with a smile as he plucked the badge from Ziva's hand.

"You do know that they will ask to see identification from the both of us," Ziva pointed out. "And there will be questions regarding agents from _two_ different federal agencies."

Sam had to admit that he was surprised that Ziva was actually going to let him get away with pretending to be a federal agent. "Trust me," Sam said, finally as he and Ziva headed for the front door. "I've done this a few times."

"I'm sure," Ziva said, quietly, finding herself glancing at Sam's rear end as she followed him.

xx

Inside, Ziva was again surprised when Sam approached the front desk and pulled out the fake badge. "I'm Special Agent Stiles, FBI," Sam said, smoothly. Nodding to Ziva, he added, "This is Agent David, NCIS. We're conducting a joint investigation and we believe it concerns the patient who escaped last night."

"Anna Milton?" The nurse at the desk said in surprise. "Um, Dr. Reed was handling Anna's case. She's the one you'd want to talk to."

While the doctor was paged, Ziva gave Sam an approving look. "You did that quite well."

"Comes with the job," Sam replied, quietly.

"Agents Stiles and David?"

Ziva and Sam turned to see a woman with curly blonde hair coming towards them. "Dr. Reed?" Ziva asked.

Nicole Reed shook Sam and Ziva's hands as she proceeded to lead them to what had been Anna Milton's room.

"How long had Anna been at the facility?" Ziva asked, curiously.

"Only about 4 weeks," Dr. Reed replied, simply. "Two months ago she was happy, well-adjusted—journalism major, lots of friends. Bright future."

"So she just suddenly snapped?" Sam wanted to know.

"Well, that's the tragedy of schizophrenia," Reed said, sadly. "Within weeks Anna was overtaken by delusions."

"What kinds of delusions?" Sam asked, still not understanding why Anna would be on the demonic radar.

"She believed demons were everywhere," Reed replied as she handed over a sketchbook.

While Sam looked at the drawings, Ziva asked, "Did it ever seem as though there might be credit to her delusions?" Seeing that the psychologist seemed puzzled at the question, she clarified. "Has anyone ever tried to hurt Anna? Or did it ever seem as though there was someone or something threatening her?"

Dr. Reed looked a little put off by the line of questioning and Sam caught the doctor's skeptical look. It was a look he was used to seeing when he or Dean would start asking questions about supernatural situations. Sensing that Dr. Reed was about to ask to double-check their credentials, he held out a hand. "Thank you for your time," Sam said with a smile.

After shaking Sam's hand again, Reed said, "I hope you find Anna. It's dangerous for her to be out there alone right now."

"Thank you," Ziva added as she and Sam headed back outside.

Once in Ziva's car, Sam gave her a smile. "Not bad," he said, approvingly. When Ziva gave him a questioning look, he went on. "Asking if anyone had been threatening Anna. Good work. You'd be handy on a hunt."

"A hunt?" Ziva asked, confused. "Hunting what?"

"Demons, ghosts… Dean and I have even killed werewolves and vampires," Sam replied, wondering how much Ziva could take. To his surprise, she didn't look skeptical. On the contrary, she seemed interested as she started up the car.

"So a demon is after Anna Milton?" Ziva asked as she headed back out to the main road.

"That's what it sounds like," Sam replied, thoughtfully. "So where do we go now?"

"Anna will likely go somewhere she feels safe," Ziva replied, simply. "We should start with her house and then proceed from there."

After a while, Sam glanced over at Ziva who was tearing down the street at a speed that would have impressed even Dean. "You know, it's a shame you couldn't actually get Dr. Reed to answer your questions."

"I could have," Ziva assured Sam, not taking her eyes off the road for a second. "But I did not think that you would want me to torture the poor woman."

Sam didn't say anything to that for the primary reason that he was unable to tell whether or not Ziva was joking.

xxx

Arriving at the Milton home, Ziva bristled a bit when she noticed Tony's car parked on the street behind a black '67 Chevy Impala. Looking over at Sam, Ziva asked, "Why would your brother be here?"

"Good question," Sam said, looking around as he and Ziva went up the front steps. Inside, they found Tony, McGee, Fiona, and Dean bent over two bodies whose throats had been slashed.

Dean didn't say anything as he caught Sam's eye and jerked his head in the direction of the kitchen. Once the two brothers were out of earshot, Dean said, quietly, "Couple was dead when Fi and I got here about a minute before the feds. Sulpher near the bodies."

"Demons got here first," Sam said with a nod. "Whoever this Anna girl is, they must want her bad."

"Yeah, and they're not screwing around," Dean muttered, stiffening when he saw Tony coming towards them.

"What's going on here?" Tony asked, staring down both Winchesters. "First James Brendon and now the Miltons? The two of you show up and suddenly people start dying bloody. If I didn't know any better, I'd think the police and federal reports on you guys were dead on."

Sam and Dean exchanged a look and after a resigned shrug from Sam, Dean sighed but before he could say anything, Fiona spoke up.

"Sam and Dean didn't kill anyone," Fiona said, firmly. Looking at Tony, McGee, and Ziva she said, quickly, "Look, we don't have time to go through the whole thing, but bottom line: demons are real, they apparently want this girl, Anna, _really_ bad, and Sam, Dean, and I are the only ones who are actually _trained_ to deal with them."

"Didn't know the Marines trained people how to kill demons," Tony replied, skeptically.

"The _Marines_ don't," Fiona snapped back. "My Dad started training me when I was 7. Dean and Sam weren't much older when their father started training them."

McGee looked skeptical at the whole notion but after a moment, he asked, "Okay, so if these things _are_ out there—"

"They are," Dean, Sam, and Fiona said in unison.

"Okay, then how do we kill them?" McGee asked.

"_You_ don't," Dean replied, shortly, giving the NCIS agent a look.

"Okay, well," Tony said, a smug smile on his face as he indicated himself, McGee, and Ziva. "—_we've_ dealt with terrorists, suicide bombers, and drugged-out wackos among other things. I think a few _demons_ aren't entirely out of our range."

"Yeah, well, Sam and I have tackled wendigos, vampires, pissed-off ghosts, demons, and even a few werewolves," Dean countered. "We've had more injuries in our _whole lives_ than the whole lot of you put together."

"I survived the pneumonic plague and almost _died_," Tony replied, as he and Dean locked gazes.

"I got ripped apart by hellhounds," Dean said, not ready to give in.

"I nearly got blown up in a car bombing," Tony went on, certain he'd won the argument.

"I actually _did_ die," Dean said, using every bit of self-control he could muster to not slam the NCIS agent against a wall. This guy was even worse that FBI Agent-Hendrickson.

Tony didn't say anything, and his expression was as stony as ever but his eyes widened just slightly, showing surprise at the statement.

"If you were dead," Ziva asked, now becoming confused. "Then how are you alive?"

"Got pulled out of Hell by—" But before Dean could continue, he was cut off by a loud whistle.

When everyone turned to Fiona after the piercing whistle, she huffed in an annoyed fashion. "Alright! Look," she snapped, angrily. "We all think we can handle this whole mess so let's actually act like _adults_ and work together." Looking at Sam and McGee, she said, "Go tell Gibbs what's going on and see if there's anything you can dig up on Anna."

McGee glanced briefly at Tony who just said, "Do it, Probie."

"Right," McGee replied, quickly leaving the house, Sam following behind.

Once they were gone, Tony looked at Fiona, challenge in his eyes. "And what would you like _me_ to do?" he asked, his tone clearly saying that he wasn't going to let Fiona just boss him around.

But Fiona hadn't made the rank of Gunnery Sergeant by letting others get away with challenging her. She'd learned a lot during her years as a Marine and she knew that Anthony DiNozzo was only acting like this because not only he was a Senior Field Agent but he also didn't understand the inherent dangers of dealing with demons.

Had Gibbs been there, he would likely have deferred control of the situation to Fiona and the Winchesters, knowing at least a little about the things that were really out there.

Tony—having neither the knowledge or experience of dealing with the supernatural—was, of course, treating the current situation as any normal murder investigation.

"Look," Fiona said with forced calm. "The important thing is we find Anna Milton before whatever—" Catching Tony's look, she added, "—or _whoever_ killed her parents." Looking at Tony, Ziva, and Dean, she went on. "So let's look around and see if we can figure out where Anna might have run to."

Tony nodded curtly and he and Ziva started searching while Dean and Fiona did likewise. Pulling Ziva aside, Tony asked, "Since when do _you_ believe in the paranormal?"

Ziva had never pegged Tony as a skeptic but after a moment to consider her reply, she said, "I believe that it would be foolish to suggest that there are not things out there that we cannot explain."

"Hey," Dean said from the dining room. "In here."

When Tony and Ziva joined him, Dean handed over a picture on Anna with her parents. Ziva's eyes narrowed as she recognized something in the back ground. "Anna was drawing a window of her church," she said, looking at the others.

"If you were religious, scared, and had demons on your ass, where would you go to feel safe?"

"Okay, let's go," Tony said, swiftly as he headed for the front door.

"Whoa, whoa…" Fiona said, quickly.

"What?" Tony said, not sure why Fiona was stopping him. "We go, we pick up the girl, and we bring her back to NCIS."

But Fiona wasn't giving up. "Or, here's an alternate: you go, get killed be demons, and we bring _you_ back to NCIS in a body bag."

"She has a point, Tony," Ziva added. She didn't like the idea of going into a completely unknown situation unprepared.

"Fine," Tony replied, clearly sounding like he was on his last nerve. "Then we'll _all_ go, okay?"

Dean and Fiona exchanged looks and Dean finally said, "Alright. But you follow our lead, okay?"

Seeing Tony ready to argue, Ziva quickly interrupted. "Agreed." Looking at the two hunters, she added, "You two can drive. Tony and I will follow you in his car."

As they all left the house, Tony looked over at Dean and Fiona. He didn't like those two in charge on this thing and his gut was saying that this was a bad idea.

As Dean started up the Impala, he looked over at Fiona who looked troubled. "What is it?"

Fiona was hesitant to say but once on the main street, she glanced in the rearview mirror and said, "I've got a bad feeling about this."

Dean didn't say anything as they drove towards Anna's church at first, but after a minute or two, he grinned. "So if I'm Han Solo, does that make you Princess Leia?"

Fiona cracked a smile. "Yeah, well, just remember this is one princess who could knock you on your ass with no trouble at all."

* * *

A/N: Next chapter—Tony and Ziva have their first demonic encounter, Ruby gets yet another new body, and Gibbs and NCIS find out it's not just demons who are after Anna.


	7. Chapter 7

AUTHOR'S NOTES: Firstly, I'd like to give a quick shout out to Dark-Supernatural-Angel for some invaluable brainstorming which helped get this chapter up faster.

Next chapter will have Pamela arriving in DC and Anna's life gets rocked even more.

Chapter 7

* * *

The church was empty when Dean, Fiona, Ziva, and Tony arrived and once inside all four of them drew their guns and began systematically searching the building with Dean and Tony starting with the basement and Fiona and Ziva searching the first floor.

"So where'd you get the car?" Tony asked, looking around for any signs that someone was hiding. "Did you steal that, too?"

"It was my dad's," Dean replied, trying not to let Tony rile him up. God, he was going to give Fi all kinds of hell for this. "He gave her to me when I turned 21." After a moment, Dean's curiosity overrode his dislike of the NCIS agent. "Where'd you get the '66 Mustang?"

"Bought it a few months ago. My old one got blown up," Tony said as he and Dean headed for the stairs.

Nodding in sympathy, Dean said, "Bit over a year ago I had to rebuild my car after a semi totaled it."

Tony was actually impressed by that. "You rebuilt her?"

"From the ground up," Dean affirmed as the two reached the top of the steps.

After finding Fiona and Ziva, the four of them proceeded to head up to the attic, guns still drawn but lowered so as not to alarm Anna if she was up there.

Looking around the attic, Fiona noticed movement behind a stained glass portrait. She tried to make a show of putting her gun away and noticed that Dean had tucked his own gun in the waistband of his pants. Once Tony and Ziva had holstered their weapons, Fi took a few steps ahead of the others. "Anna? We're not going to hurt you. We're here to help. My name is Fiona. This is my friend, Dean and—"

"Dean?" Anna said, still hiding. "Not Dean Winchester?"

"Uh, yeah," Dean said, a little surprised as he joined Fi.

After a moment, Anna came out into the open, looking at the group with both fear and gratitude. Looking at Dean, she said, "It's really you. Oh, my God." Walking towards the small group, she went on. "The angels talk about you. You were in Hell but Castiel pulled you out and some of them that you can help save us." Looking at Fiona she seemed a bit surprised. "And some of them think that you're the only one who can save Dean's brother."

Fiona shot Dean a look but Dean was looking at Anna with a touch of confusion. "So you talk to angels?"

"Oh, no," Anna assured him, wanting Dean to believe that she wasn't crazy. "They probably don't even know I exist. I just, kind of… over hear them?"

"You overhear them?" Dean repeated, feeling like this case was getting stranger by the second. "Like… right now?"

"Yeah," Anna replied, although the more she thought about it, the crazier it sounded. "Well, no, I'm not hearing them right now. But a lot. They talk and sometimes I hear them in my head. But there's so many of them and I can't shut them out."

"So they lock you up with a case of the crazies when really you're just tuning into Angel Radio?" Dean asked, trying to make sense of everything. Hearing Tony and Ziva shifting behind him, Dean could only imagine what the two NCIS agents were thinking about all this.

But Anna seemed grateful that Dean and Fiona were believing her and after a moment, Fiona asked, "Anna, when did the voices start? Do you remember?"

"I can tell you exactly," Anna replied, happy that someone was finally taking her seriously. "September 18th."

"Day I got out of Hell," Dean said to Fiona who seemed a little unclear why the date was significant.

"First words I heard. Clear as a bell," Anna went on. "'Dean Winchester is saved'."

"Okay, we've got to go," Tony said, stepping forward, finally. Looking at Dean and Fiona, he said, quickly. "If you're right and someone's after her, then we need to—"

"Come on, people. We gotta go," said a tall redhead as she suddenly came through the door.

"Oh!" Anna said, suddenly, backing away in fear. "Her face!"

Dean looked at Anna in confusion but looking from Anna to the mystery woman, the pieces started coming together. "Anna, this is Ruby who has apparently had yet another facelift since them last time I saw her. She's not going to hurt you."

"Hey, we've got to go _now_," Ruby insisted. "Demon followed you from the girl's house and he's on his way here."

Tony and Ziva drew their guns again and looked from Ruby to Dean, Fiona, and Anna. "Tony and I will hold him off."

"Are you suicidal?" Ruby asked, unable to believe that the two feds were really that stupid.

"You have a better idea?" Tony asked, looking at Ruby.

"Too late," Dean said, noticing the blood tears falling from the eyes of a marble statue of the Virgin Mary.

"Tony, take Anna and hide," Ziva ordered, sharply.

Tony gave her an incredulous look. "Ziva this isn't the time for—" But hearing someone coming up the stairs, Tony took Anna and quick tucked her away in a closet before joining the others, aiming his SIG at the door which had suddenly blown open.

As soon as Tony and Ziva saw clear shots, they fired at the man entering the attic but even with both agents firing half a clip each, the demon just smiled and kept coming.

"Now that's not nice," the demon sneered and quickly sent both agents flying across the room.

Fiona went next but with a second gesture, she was sent tumbling down the stairs, landing in a crumbled heap. After getting to her feet she hurried back up the stairs and saw the demon whaling on Dean. Grabbing Ruby's knife off the floor, she went for the demon, plunging the knife into his shoulder.

"You're gonna have to try a whole lot harder than that, girl," the demon said with a sneer as he threw Fiona off.

Dean and Fiona saw Tony and Ziva rushing towards them and all four suddenly looked at the stained glass window—their only avenue of escape. As one, the small group charged the window, crashing through the glass and falling to ground below, Dean and Ziva tumbling down the short flight of steps leading up to the church doors.

Fiona groaned, her arm burning with pain and she looked to see the sleeve of her jacket soaked with blood. Her right knee and hip throbbed, but after a moment, she managed to her to her feet.

Tony looked pretty banged up, but thankfully, he also stood, going to help Ziva up.

"Dean," Fiona said, limping over to him. Dean looked beat all to hell and it looked like his left shoulder was dislocated.

When he finally sat up, Dean winced and looked at Fiona and the agents. "We gotta get out of here."

"We should call an ambulance," Tony said, taking mental stock of his injuries.

"No," Dean insisted, forcefully. Looking at Fiona, pleading in his eyes, he said, "No hospitals." Looking at Ziva who seemed to be in better shape than the rest of them, he asked, "Think you can drive us all back to NCIS?"

* * *

When Sam's cellphone rang, he jumped up from Tony DiNozzo's desk where he'd been helping McGee look for records on the Miltons. "Dean?" he asked, worried that something had happened. "Are you alright?"

"Not really," Dean replied and his voice sounded pained. "Meet us downstairs. Autopsy."

There was a pause and then Dean added, "Hurry, Sammy."

Skipping the stairs, Sam raced downstairs, barely noticing when Abby hurried after him.

In Autopsy, Tony and Ziva were sitting on one of the autopsy tables looking beaten.

Dean was holding his left arm close to his body as he leaned against another table where Fiona sat, holding a towel to her arm which was covered with blood.

"What happened?" Sam asked, going to his brother.

"Oh, my God!" Abby said, frantically as she hurried to Tony and Ziva.

"We're okay, Abbs," Tony assured her, although he felt like he'd broken a few ribs.

"You most certainly are _not_ okay, Anthony," Ducky insisted, looking at the x-rays he'd taken from Tony, Ziva, Dean, and Fiona. "Three broken ribs, and you're lucky it wasn't worse." Turning and looking at Dean, he frowned. "And you, Mr. Winchester, are fortunate you survived with only bruises and a dislocated shoulder."

"Nothin' I haven't had before, Doc," Dean insisted, trying to look like he wasn't in pain.

"Yes, well," Ducky went on. "All four of you should be in hospital."

"It's not necessary," Dean insisted, breathing through the pain in his shoulder which was steadily increasing. "Sam and I do patch-up jobs in motel rooms all the time."

Ducky frowned at that and as he looked at Tony and Ziva and then at Fiona and Dean, he sighed. This job would be the death of him one day. The stress alone…

While Ducky tended to Tony and Ziva, Sam looked at Dean. "Want me to pop that shoulder back in?"

"Please," Dean replied, nodding as he gripped the edge of the table and braced himself as Sam put one hand on his back just to the right of his shoulder and his other hand on the joint.

"On three…" Sam said, making sure his hands were in the right position. "One…" With a sickening snap, he popped Dean's shoulder back in.

Dean groaned and after a moment, very gently rolled his left shoulder. The pain was still there, but at least it felt like everything was back in place.

"Okay," Sam said, looking at Fiona. "Now you."

"I can wait, Sam," Fiona insisted. But looking at her left hand, she noticed that the tip of her pinky finger was disjointed. After popping it back, she looked at the gash on her arm which had thankfully stopped bleeding.

"Come on," Sam insisted, helping Fi get her jacket off.

"Fine," Fiona replied with a wince. Looking from Ducky to Sam, she asked, "How about some painkillers first?"

While Ducky was taking care of Tony and Ziva, he kept glancing at Fiona and the Winchesters. Sam seemed to have done an excellent job of stitching up Fiona's wound and he'd even cleaned it up before bandaging it.

Dean still looked sore but when he rolled his shoulder it looked like he would be fine.

Fiona hadn't even seemed phased when she'd taken care of the disjointed finger and thinking of how calmly Sam had taken care of her and Dean, Ducky wondered just how often the three had patched each other up after a fight.

Ducky had been about to ask what had happened to the girl, Anna Milton, when the autopsy doors opened and his assistant, Jimmy Palmer came in and—much to Ducky's surprise—went straight to Sam, handing him a piece of paper.

"I'm at this address," Palmer said, quickly.

"Excuse me?" Sam said, totally confused.

"Go now," Palmer went on. Looking at Tony and Ziva, he added, "You, too. Take the blue SUV in the parking lot. Keys are in the center consol. There are demons across the street so take the rear exit."

"Wait, Ruby?" Sam said, realizing what was going on.

"Okay, so I'm possessing this guy for a hot minute," Palmer said, defensively. "Sue me."

"What happened to the girl you hijacked before?" Dean asked, a little weirded out by what was going on.

"Coma Girl?" Ruby/Palmer replied. "Slowly rotting on the floor back at the cabin with Anna. So I've got to hurry back. See you when you get there. Go!"

With that, Palmer's head was suddenly flung backward, a huge cloud of black smoke expelling from his mouth and heading out of the room through the air vent. When Palmer collapsed, Ducky hurried over, checking to make sure the young man was unhurt.

"Well, you heard her," Dean said, looking at Sam, Fiona, Tony, and Ziva. "Let's go."

As they trooped out of Autopsy, Tony said to Fiona, "Why do I feel like I've suddenly fallen into an episode of _The X-Files_?"

"No, _The X-Files_ is a TV show," Fiona replied, flatly. "This is real."

"I don't know if that's better or worse," Tony muttered, his ribs aching.

* * *

The abandoned hunting cabin was set deep in the woods and the road was winding as Ziva drove. Arriving just after 9pm, everyone got out of the car and headed into the cabin where Ruby was waiting with Anna who didn't look as scared as before.

"Anna, are you okay?" Sam asked.

"Yeah, I think so," Anna replied from where she sat on an old leather sofa. "Ruby's not like other demons. She saved my life."

"So it would seem," Fiona muttered, sizing Ruby up. "So you and Sam, huh?"

"This isn't the time for jealousy, Fiona," Ruby snapped, facing off with the other woman. "Besides, I don't remember _you_ being the one helping Sam after Dean's death."

Fiona grabbed Ruby by the lapels of the leather jacket she wore and slammed her against the wall, not even caring that everyone was staring at her. "You're a demon," Fiona said, angrily. "And the only reason you're not dead right now is the knife Dean gave me is in the evidence lock-up at NCIS."

"Yeah, and who do you think helped Dean with that knife?" Ruby countered. Knocking Fiona's hands away and pushing Fiona back, she added, "So don't get all pissed off at me for being there for Sam. Because you were too busy playing soldier to even give a crap about what was going on with your _family_."

Before Fiona could go after Ruby again, Dean dashed forward and held Fi back. "Let her go, Fi. She's not worth it."

Fiona stopped struggling but there was hatred in her eyes as she stared down Ruby. "If you do anything to hurt Sam I swear to God I will kill you myself!"

Anna slowly stood and looked at the others as she asked, timidly, "Um, I know this probably isn't a great time to ask, but do you guys think I could make a quick call? Just to let my parents know I'm okay? They must be completely freaked."

Fiona relaxed and when she felt Dean let her go she looked over at the others. "Guys? A minute?"

Dean nodded and he and Sam went to check the rest of the house while Ruby went to the door to keep watch and Tony and Ziva went outside to take a look around.

Fiona looked at Anna who seemed to know something was wrong. "Anna, we checked your house earlier. We were looking for you. But it looks like the demons got there first." Gently holding on to Anna as she started to sob, Fi said, "Anna, I know this is a blow. And trust me, we're going to help you figure this out. Okay?" But when Anna looked panicked, Fiona asked, "Anna, what is it?"

"They're coming!" Anna said, frantically.

"Okay, come on," Fiona said, pulling Anna into a back room and locking the door behind them. "We should be safe here," she muttered, hoping it was true.

"What are we going to do now?" Anna whispered, frightful.

"We're going to figure things out," Fiona assured her.

Anna stiffened a bit and suddenly she grabbed an old knife from the corner and slashed her arm.

"Whoa, what are you doing?" Fiona said, quickly, her eyes wide. But before she could act, she stopped as Anna started drawing some sort of elaborate sigil on the mirror in her own blood. When she touched the sigil with a bloody hand there was a flash of blinding light and Fiona could only stare dumbly at the bloody design. "What was _that_?" she asked Anna. But instead of waiting for an answer Fi pulled a handkerchief of an inside pocket of her jacket and tied it around Anna's arm.

"Are they gone?" Anna asked, breathlessly.

Fiona was about to ask what Anna was talking about but hearing the door rattle and Dean's voice, she opened the door.

"You guys okay?" Dean asked as Fiona and Anna came out of the room. Seeing the blood, Dean put a hand on her shoulder. "We'll get you stitched up as soon as we find some place safe, okay?"

"Thanks," Anna replied, still holding her bleeding arm.

Out in the main room, Tony and Ziva looked at the others. "So where do we go now?"

Fiona had no idea and she knew that no matter where they went demons and angels would probably be able to track them.

"Gibbs's basement," Ziva said, simply after thinking for a moment. "Anna will be safe there."

"Yeah, no offense," Dean replied, wondering how the hell things had gotten so out of control so fast. "But your boss's house isn't going to do the trick."

"And what would you suggest?" Ziva asked, her arms crossed.

Dean thought for a moment about where to go next. The first place that popped into his mind was Bobby Singer's but that was all the way out in South Dakota. They needed some place closer and they needed it fast. "Okay," he said, reluctantly. "Let's just get out of here. We can regroup and figure out a plan later."

* * *

Once at the home of Leroy Jethro Gibbs, Ruby, Ziva, and Fiona took Anna down to the basement where Fiona proceeded to stitch up the cut on Anna's arm.

In the kitchen, Tony raided the beer in Gibbs' fridge and handed a bottle to Sam and Dean.

"You doing alright?" Sam asked, looking at Tony who seemed to be only slightly less overwhelmed than before.

"Define 'alright'," Tony replied, sitting down at the table. "Last week I didn't even think ghosts were real and now I'm ass deep in angels, demons, and God only knows what else."

"Yeah, well, welcome to our lives," Dean muttered, sipping his beer. "Least you have a real life."

"Look, what do we do now?" Sam asked, playing with his beer bottle. "I mean, Anna can't live down in Gibbs' basement forever. We need to find out what's really going on."

"Great," Tony said, dryly. "How do we do that? You guys are the experts after all."

"Yeah, well this is way above our pay grade," Dean admitted. Setting his beer down, he looked at Tony and said, "The truth is that Sam and I are new to the whole angel thing. Right now all we know is that both sides want this Anna chick and no one knows exactly why."

"There may be something we haven't considered," Sam spoke up. He'd been thinking about it for a while and it seemed like it was becoming the only option. Looking at Dean, he said, simply, "Pamela."

Tony looked from one brother to the other and asked, "Pamela?"

"Pamela Barnes," Sam explained. "She's a psychic. It'll take a couple days to get her here, though."

"I'll take Fi and Ziva with me," Dean offered, finishing off his beer. Looking at Sam, he added, "Sammy—you, Tony, and Ruby keep an eye on Anna. Don't let her out of your sight."

"You got it," Sam replied, solemnly. He didn't like the idea of splitting up but there didn't seem to be much choice right now.

x

Downstairs, Fiona finished the stitches on Anna's arm and had just finished with the bandage when Dean came down. "So what's the plan?"

Dean looked at Ziva and Fiona and after a moment's pause, he said, "We're going to pick up a friend." Walking over to Anna, he said, "Sam, Tony, and Ruby are going to stay here and protect you. You'll be okay. I promise."

"Okay," Anna said, quietly. Watching everyone but Ruby leave, Anna didn't move from the stool by the work bench. She wasn't sure why the basement seemed safe to her but it did. Looking around, this space seemed like a sanctuary.

When the sun started to come up, Anna started when she heard footsteps upstairs. When Ruby went up, Anna wondered why she was being left alone but a minute later, an older man came down the stairs, giving her a kind look before going to a shelf and pulling out two empty jars and a bottle of bourbon. "Wh-Who are you?"

"Special Agent Jethro Gibbs," he said, handing Anna one of the jars.

Anna looked around, nervously as she asked, "Um, where are the others?"

"Sent them to get coffee and breakfast," Gibbs replied, pulling a sawhorse over and sitting down. "I thought you might need a break. You've been through a lot."

"A lot?" Anna repeated, sarcastically as she stared at Gibbs with an incredulous look on her face. "Angels want to _kill me_! My parents are _dead_! I mean, do you know what it's like to lose your whole family? T-To have your life _leveled_?"

"Yeah, I do," Gibbs replied, quietly as he picked up a picture sitting on the workbench and handed it to Anna.

Anna set her jar of bourbon down and looked at the picture of Gibbs smiling as he sat on a beach with a redheaded woman and a young girl. Looking at Gibbs with a sense of understanding, she said, "Your wife and daughter?"

Gibbs nodded as he gently took the picture back. "Shannon, Kelly, and I took a trip down to Mexico before I shipped out. I'd missed Kelly's 7th birthday so I told her we could go anywhere she wanted for her 8th birthday." There was a deep-rooted sadness in his eyes as he looked at one of the last pictures he had of his little girl. "It was the last birthday I spent with her."

Anna nodded, sadly, tears still sliding down her cheeks. "I just wish I could go back. Back to when my life made sense."

Gibbs silently stood and without another word, pulled Anna into a hug.

Anna was a bit surprised when Gibbs embraced her warmly, but as she held onto him, she was reminded of when she was a little girl and her father would hold her after a bad dream. And this time, when Gibbs gave her a whispered promise that everything would be okay, she believe him. This time she _knew_ that everything would work out somehow.


	8. Chapter 8

AUTHOR'S NOTES: When I consider the character of Pamela and her psychic abilities, I also kind of think of the idea of Legilimency from 'Harry Potter'. Hopefully, that explains the way I've written Pamela in this story.

Chapter 8

* * *

When he returned to the NCIS squad room, Gibbs looked at McGee and Sam who was sitting at Tony's empty desk. "Status update, McGee," Gibbs barked.

Sam started a bit when he heard Gibbs' brisk tone and looked over at McGee who was uploading images up to the main plasma screen. "Richard and Amy Milton," McGee reported, quickly. "Married in '76. Tried for almost 7 years for kids with no luck until 1985 when Anna was born. Rich Milton is a church deacon and Amy is a housewife. No criminal record on either of them."

"What about Anna?" Gibbs asked, looking at the family photo McGee had put up.

McGee brought up Anna's history and shrugged. "Honor roll in high school. Salutatorian her senior year and she was a journalism major until her psychotic episode two months ago."

Gibbs looked over at Sam and raised an eyebrow in a look that said 'Are you going to contribute or just let my agent do all the work?'. "Anything to add, Winchester?"

Caught off guard, Sam stammered for a moment before he said, "Uh, yeah. Yeah, it actually turns out that this recent psych episode of Anna's wasn't her first." Looking at the computer to double check the information, he went on. "When she was two and a half, she got hysterical whenever her dad got close. She was convinced he wasn't her real daddy."

While Gibbs gave Sam a 'What else?' look, McGee was frowning slightly. "Where'd you find that?" McGee asked, curiously.

Sam didn't respond to the question, but instead went on. "Anna didn't say who but she just kept saying that this real father of hers was mad. Very mad, like 'wanted to kill her' mad."

"Kind of heavy for a two-year-old," McGee commented.

Sam nodded in agreement and finished, "Anyway, she saw a kid shrink, got better and grew up normal."

"Until now," Gibbs said, thoughtfully. What was constantly troubling him right now was: Why Anna? Of all the people in the world, why was this poor girl tapped into the world of demons and angels? Momentarily distracted by his phone ringing, he picked it up, surprised to hear Abby's voice. "What is it, Abby?"

"I need you down here, Gibbs," Abby replied, quickly. "I found something seriously hinky in that blood sample you gave me."

"Be down there in a minute, Abbs," Gibbs promised before hanging up. Looking at McGee and Sam, he said, "With me."

Sam nodded and he and McGee followed Gibbs downstairs to Abby's lab where the forensic scientist was looking at something on the main computer screen.

"What do you got, Abbs?" Gibbs asked as he looked at Abby.

Abby turned to Gibbs and the others before starting her presentation. "Okay, first off—everyone knows that when we're conceived we get half of our genetic material from our mother and half from out father. But—" On the larger plasma screen she brought up the DNA samples she'd been running and went on. "Anna Milton's DNA is 95% identical to her mother's. That's impossible except sometimes in cases of incest but that's not what happened here."

"So what did happen?" Sam asked, wondering what to make of this latest wrinkle in the case.

"I don't know," Abby assured him. "I mean I ran the test three times but it just doesn't make any sense."

McGee had been quiet but at Abby's comment, he gave her a dry smile. "Abby, we're dealing with actual demons and homicidal angels. When did think this case would start making sense?" But while he'd been mentally cringing in preparation for Abby's wrath, he was surprised when she suddenly seemed excited.

"McGee, you're a genius!" Abby exclaimed, going to her computer again. "We could be dealing with an actual case of divine conception."

"Come again?" Sam asked, even more confused than Gibbs or McGee right now.

But Abby's excitement wasn't to be quashed as she looked at the demon hunter, a smile on her face. "It's possible that Anna can hear angels because she herself was conceived by them."

As McGee, Gibbs, and Sam exchanged looks, they all found themselves wondering what kind of 180 twist would this case take next.

* * *

Starting off on the road to Hayden, Illinois, Fiona had laid down in the back seat of the Impala and quickly fallen asleep.

After looking back at the sleeping Marine from the passenger seat, Ziva glanced over at Dean. "So your father and Fiona's father were friends?"

"Yeah," Dean replied with a nod. "When they were in the Corps, they were also tight with Gibbs. But then Dad and James left to become hunters while Gibbs stayed in the Marines."

"Where is your father now?" Ziva asked, curiously.

"Dead," Dean replied, succinctly. When he felt Ziva staring at him, he added, "This demon… he, uh… made a deal with Dad to save me."

Ziva didn't say anything at first but after a long silence, she finally said, "About two years ago one of Gibbs' agents was killed by a terrorist sniper." When Dean looked over at her, she added, "He was also my half-brother. I killed him in order to save Gibbs."

Dean was quiet for a while, thinking about the idea of sacrifice—obviously something Ziva understood. "When Sam died… I made a deal with a demon to bring him back. I had a year and, uh… when it was up, I was killed by hellhounds."

"Sometimes I wonder what might have happened if Ari hadn't hated my father so much," Ziva mused out loud. "I wonder if… If I could have him back, if we could be a family again."

Looking over at Ziva, Dean said, "I was four when my mom was killed by the same demon who killed my dad. Sam was just 6 months old. Dad handed Sam to me and told me to take him outside. For just about my entire life I've just had one responsibility: Look out for Sam."

It was something Ziva understood quite well. She was, after all, a middle child. Ari had been older than her and she remembered seeing the anger on her father's face when Ari had neglected his duty to keep her and her little sister safe. They had been children and Ari had turned his back for only a minute and Tali had fallen from the tree she'd been climbing and Ziva had tripped on the roots hurrying towards her little sister. She knew the responsibilities of being an older sibling and knew the pain of being the younger, seeing how Ari would sometimes take the brunt of her father's anger to shield her from punishment.

"I think you and I are very much alike," Ziva concluded. "We are both trying to live up to the expectations of our fathers."

Dean was about to argue, to say that Ziva didn't understand, but when he caught her eye, he knew the she _did_ understand—perhaps more than any woman he'd ever known.

xxxxx

A few hours away from Pamela's, they stopped at a rest area after refueling the Impala and Fiona moved to the passenger seat while Ziva grabbed a 'bat-nap'.

Looking over at Fi once they were back on the road, Dean asked, "How're you holding up?"

Fiona shrugged as she stared out the passenger side window. "I was just thinking about… about Dad. I spent so much time fighting him and now… I know he'd dead but it just doesn't feel real yet."

"It will," Dean replied, quietly.

Rubbing the back of her neck, Fiona sighed, deeply. "I just feel like my whole life is spinning out of control." With a soft smile she added, "I guess that's why I understand how Anna feels."

Dean was lost in thought for a while as they continued driving. There were so many things he wanted to say to Fi but he couldn't think of the right way to say them. Catching Fi gently rubbing her arm where she'd been cut, Dean thought about how it wasn't fair that she would be scarred so soon after reuniting with him and Sam.

As if sensing the line of thought, Fiona looked over at Dean and said, "So when Castiel pulled you out of Hell, did he also heal all your past injuries?" Catching Dean's look, she added, "Well, when we were in Autopsy I noticed that the burn scar on your arm was gone. You know, from that wendigo when I was 16 and you were 12?"

Dean nodded, thinking about the absence of all his old scars. "Feels kinda weird, honestly. You know, I earned those scars."

"There's a few scars of mine I wouldn't mind losing," Fiona admitted after a while.

Dean looked over at Fi and when his curiosity got the better of him, he asked, "Like what?"

Fiona shrugged and rolled her right shoulder a bit. "Oh… like the shrapnel scars on my right shoulder. I lost a good friend that day and the scars are a reminder. I don't know, I guess it all just makes me look older than I really am."

"Hey, there's an upside," Dean pointed out with a smile. "My knees are way better than they used to be."

"Yeah, but you must have forgotten how much it hurts to dislocate a shoulder," Fiona said with a smirk. "I saw how much pain you were in."

"First dislocation always hurts the most," Dean argued.

xxxxxxxxxx

Pulling into Pamela's driveway, Dean parked and once he, Ziva, and Fiona were out of the car, he was surprised when the front door opened and Pamela Barnes stepped out onto the porch. "You guys gonna come in or just stand around all day?" she asked with a smirk.

Ziva frowned slightly and started towards the porch. "Pamela Barnes?" she asked, wondering if this was the right person. Hadn't Dean said that she was blind?

"That's me, Officer David," Pamela replied, smiling as she sensed the Mossad officer's surprise. Ziva's aura was a rich swirl of contradictions and Pamela could feel passion simmering below the surface melding with perfect calm. Turning her focus on Fiona Brendon, Pamela was caught off guard by the intense psychic pain coming from the Marine. "Come on inside and we'll talk."

Once inside and sitting in the living room, Pamela asked, "So what're you doing here again, Dean?"

Dean cleared his throat and leaned forward. "There's this girl, Anna. Demons are after her and the angels want her dead."

Pamela frowned a bit at that and after a moment asked, "So why come to me?"

"Because we're out of other options, Dean confessed. "We don't know anything about this girl except that she can hear angels talking. She's hiding something but we can't find out what."

"Will you help us?" Ziva asked, gently.

Chuckling lightly, Pamela nodded. "Yeah, I'll help. So… what do you need?"

xxxxxxxxxxx

On the drive back to Washington, DC, Dean filled Ziva and Fiona in on the details of his first encounter with Pamela and he filled Pamela on what exactly had happened with Anna.

Sitting in the backseat of the Impala with Fiona Brendon, Pamela thought about her three companions. Dean may have come back from Hell physically unharmed but his psychic scars were red, raw, and angry. And there was something like a deep-set ache in Dean's soul when she tried to touch the thoughts and memories of Sam.

Thinking of Sam Winchester, Pamela could remember the power emanating from him—strong and dark. Abilities and a destiny that had been building ever since he'd been born. But after meeting Fiona Brendon, she now understood something she'd never fully been able to touch. While Sam's love for Dean was wild and savage—the two brothers forever doing whatever it took to save and protect one another—Sam's love for Fiona was soft, yet strong. Pamela had sensed it months ago, but it was something that Sam had guarded fiercely—no doubt afraid that it would be used against him.

Fiona was another interesting person, both psychically and psychologically. That woman had some deep, dark wounds that had clearly been festering for a long time. The very first thing that Pamela had sensed was that Fiona not only felt responsible for the death of her father, but she also believed that had she been there she might have saved Sam from being stabbed and Dean from going to Hell. There were also psychic wounds from her time with the Marines and memories of people she couldn't save. But Fiona also had the deepest love for the Winchesters. She regarded Dean as a brother and Sam as… Pamela smiled to herself as she touched Fiona's memory of making love with Sam on a cold basement floor. True love, indeed…

And then there was Ziva David.

Pamela would be willing to bet anything that Sam, Dean, and Fiona knew next to nothing about the mysterious Israeli Mossad officer. But Ziva's essence was hard to read in depth. She'd obviously had a lifetime of experience burying her emotions. But her soul on the other hand… Pamela had known hunters who secretly longed for a peaceful ordinary life and she'd known ordinary people who longed for excitement.

Ziva David wanted to live in both worlds. She wanted a life where she didn't have to hold back in a fight and she wanted to save people, and to do good. And she while she also wanted something permanent, Ziva also wanted the kinds of family ties she saw in Sam, Dean, and Fiona.

x

As the trip went on, Pamela eventually drifted off to sleep and as she started to dream, she found herself sitting on a park bench, overlooking a meadow.

Ever since the angel, Castiel, burned her eyes out of their sockets she'd lived in a darkened world and even in her dreams she sometimes only heard voices.

But one look around and Pamela knew this was no ordinary dream. Especially when she turned and saw Castiel sitting next to her, also staring into the distance. "You have got a lot of balls showing up like this," she said, her anger simmering below the surface.

"I warned you to go back. I never meant to harm you," Castiel replied, his tone deadpan.

"Yeah, well next time," Pamela snapped. "—try harder. What do you want?"

Castiel turned to face her, his blue eyes reminding her of ice floes. "Do not help Anna Milton," the angel warned, his voice cold. "She was not meant to be saved."

"Let me tell you something," Pamela replied, her tone as cold as Castiel's. "You stole my eyes. Who knows how many people you may have hurt? I'm not going to let you make that innocent girl another victim."

Castiel's blue eyes bore into Pamela's and he leaned forward slightly. "Anna is not innocent. You have no idea how dangerous it could be if she is allowed to go free."

"You can threaten me all you want," Pamela said with a self-satisfied smile. "You've already taken my eyes. There's nothing more you can do to hurt me."

Castiel's eyes narrowed and he replied, "You do not know the half of what we can do." Raising two fingers he touched Pamela's forehead.

In an instant, Pamela saw and felt what life would be with out her psychic abilities as her eyes burned away once again. She tried not to but she started to scream.

x

"Pamela!"

Pamela woke with a start, breathing hard against the nightmare. It took a moment for her to calm down and when she heard Dean say her name again, she managed to reply, "I'm fine."

"You sure?" Dean asked, watching Pamela in the rearview mirror. "You don't have to help us, you know."

"No," Pamela replied, quietly, thinking of Castiel's warning and threat. "I do," she added with determination.

* * *

It was evening when they returned to Gibbs' house after dropping Ziva off at NCIS and Dean parked on the street before getting out and getting the door for Pamela. When he saw her pause, he asked, "Something wrong?"

Pamela shook her head but as Dean led her into the house, she could feel the psychic memories of Gibbs' family still clinging to the house. With one hand on Dean's shoulder, she let the young hunter lead her through the house and to the basement door. She caught a flash of something in the laundry room—a memory not of Gibbs, but of Ziva as she crouched, aiming her gun at a man standing in the middle of the basement.

"We're here," Dean said as he guided Pamela down the stairs, Fiona behind him.

"Pamela," Sam said in greeting as he came over to the steps from the workbench where he'd been sitting. "Hey."

"Sam," Pamela replied, happy to hear his voice again. But as she heard the awkwardness in his voice, she understood that Sam wasn't quite sure how to approach her now that she was blind. When she felt him put a hand on her shoulder, she decided to play it up just a little. "Sam, is that you?" she asked, reaching out a hand to touch his cheek.

"It's me—Sam. I'm right here," Sam said with an self-conscious grin.

"You know how I can tell?" Pamela said, reaching a hand around and smacking Sam on the butt. "That perky little ass of yours." Turning in the direction of Fiona, she added, "You could bounce a nickel off that thing!" Turning back to Sam's direction, she laughed as she said, "Of course I know it's you, Grumpy!"

Sensing a demonic presence and a cloud of recent emotional distress, she faced the two and added, "Same way I know that's a demon and that poor girl's Anna." Turning to Sam again, she smirked as she said, "And that you've been eyeing my rack." Pamela had said the last bit as a joke but hearing Sam's stammering she figured it had probably been accurate. Laughing she decided to cut Sam a break. "Don't sweat it, kiddo. I still got more senses than most."

Going over to Anna and introducing herself, Pamela added, "Dean told me what's been going on. I'm excited to help."

"Oh," Anna said, a bit surprised that this psychic was so eager to assist. "That's nice of you."

"Well, not really," Pamela admitted thinking of the nightmare she'd had on the way over and what Castiel had said. "Any chance I can dick over an angel, I'm taking it."

Anna seemed a bit puzzled and she asked, "Why?"

"They stole something from me," Pamela replied, removing her sunglasses and exposing the white, artificial eyes. Hearing Anna gasp slightly, she smiled. "Demony, I know. But they're just plastic. Good for business. Makes me look extra psychic, don't ya think?" Laughing, she put the glasses back on and put an arm around Anna's shoulders. "Now, why don't you tell me what your deal is?"

After a few moments, Fiona went over to Ruby and gripped the demon's arm in a strong hold. "Let's talk in the backyard," Fiona said, quietly, making it clear that Ruby wasn't going to get out of it. When the two women were standing in the yard, Fiona suddenly grabbed Ruby and flung her to the ground, grinning smugly when Ruby got up and started towards her.

But before Ruby could retaliate, she found herself stuck and when she looked down, she saw that someone had cut up the ground and it didn't take a genius to figure out that she was in a Devil's Trap. "So now what? You don't have the knife. And you can't exorcise me."

"No, you're right," Fiona admitted, circling Ruby. "Sam lost your knife. Mine is still considered evidence in a murder case. And I can't remember the exorcism rite." Stopping, she hauled off and punched Ruby in the face as hard as she could, knocking the demon to the ground again. "But you know what I _can _do? I can beat the crap out of you, you demonic bitch!"

"You know what?" Ruby said, not fazed at all. "It doesn't matter how much you care about Sam or how many times the two of you screw each other. Because Sam and I are already closer than you and he will ever be."

Fiona stiffened at that. "What are you talking about?"

But Ruby grinned and after a moment, she said, "Demon blood—_My _blood." Going as close to Fiona as the Devil's trap would allow, she gave her a twisted smile. "It's called addiction, honey. And I've just started with Sam."

Before Fiona could respond, she heard a scream coming from the basement of the house. Racing back inside, Fiona ran down the basement stairs, shocked at she noticed how calm Anna seemed. "What happened?"

"It's okay," Anna assured her with a light smile. "I remember now—who I am."

Fiona still looked confused and judging by the looks from Dean, Sam, and Pamela, she wasn't alone. Turning to Anna, Fi said, "I'll bite. Who are you?"

"I'm an angel," Anna replied, simply.

Sam and Dean still looked surprised but Pamela couldn't help the feeling in her gut that this was why the other angels—and Castiel—wanted Anna dead. And she also wondered if this was the reason Castiel had warned her against helping.


	9. Chapter 9

AUTHOR'S NOTES: I won't lie—this chapter gave me some monumental headaches. And I hope it's good because it was written out of insomnia and too much sugar. (Two separate issues, trust me.) There are some canon scenes, some non-canon scenes, and a few little things I threw in for the hell of it.

BTW: There is actually a Winchester, Kentucky.

Chapter 8

* * *

While Dean led Pamela and Anna upstairs, being careful to stay between the angel and the psychic, Sam looked at Fiona curiously. "Where's Ruby?" he asked her.

"In a Devil's Trap in the backyard," Fiona replied, calmly as she started for the stairs.

But Sam quickly grabbed her arm and waited until she turned to face him. "Fi, why the hell would you to that? Okay? We need Ruby."

"For _what_?" Fiona asked, appalled. "Seriously. You don't trust demons, okay? In case you've forgotten, they want us dead."

Trying not to do something he would regret, Sam tried to reign in his annoyance as he replied, "Look, Ruby helped me go after Lilith, okay? And Ruby has saved my life _and_ Dean's."

Taking a long, slow breath, Fiona finally said, "Sam… I can only think of one way to say this." Raising a hand, she smacked the back of Sam's head, hard. "Demon blood?" she exclaimed, angrily. "Are you _insane_?" Before Sam could respond, she went on. "And I pray to GOD you've just been shooting up the stuff because otherwise I will seriously hurt you."

"Look, it's not how it sounds," Sam protested, even though he knew that it was actually worse. Although it still wasn't as bad as the look in Fiona's eyes right now. Seeing the betrayal and anguish in Dean's eyes had been bad enough but Fiona seemed to be taking the news even worse than Dean had.

"Look, let's…" Fiona took a steadying breath and after a moment, she said, "Let's get things figured out with Anna, first. Okay?"

Sam nodded and turned as a voice filtered in from the backyard through the open basement windows.

"_Hello_? Is anyone going to let me out up here?" Ruby's voice sounded annoyed. "It's starting to _rain_!"

Sam looked at Fiona as if asking for permission to go to the aid of the demon.

"Go," Fiona replied, waving a hand in a resigned manner. When Sam headed up the stairs, Fiona thought about what Ruby had told her. "I am _not_ letting you get away with this, you black-eyed bitch," Fiona muttered to herself. She'd just been reunited with the Winchesters and she wasn't going to let some demon skank steal Sam from her without a fight.

X

Upstairs in the living room, Fiona found Pamela sitting on the couch in between Sam and Dean. Ruby leaned against a far wall and was keeping a wary eye on Anna who was pacing the length of the living room. "Don't be afraid," Anna said, looking at Ruby who seemed to be more uncomfortable than before. "I'm not like the others."

"I don't find that very reassuring," Ruby scoffed, doubtfully.

"Neither do I," Pamela added, wondering when the other shoe was going to drop.

Looking at Sam and Dean, Anna asked. "So Castiel, Uriel… they're the ones that came for me?"

"You know them?" Sam asked, although it wasn't really a question.

"We were kind of in the same foxhole," Anna replied, thinking of her angelic 'brothers'.

"So, what? They were like your bosses or something?" Dean figured.

With a light smile, Anna looked at Dean. "Try the other way around."

"Look at you," Dean added, having a sudden respect for the big boss angel.

"So now they want to kill you?" Pamela asked, still not able to get over Castiel's words. If Anna had indeed been an angel, then why would her underlings want her dead? What angelic crimes had Anna committed?

But Anna didn't seem too bothered by the whole thing and she seemed to almost accept her fate, something that didn't sit too well with Fiona. Shrugging, Anna replied, "Orders are orders. I'm sure I have a death sentence on my head."

"Why?" Pamela wanted to know, thinking of what she'd been told by the other angel. _"Anna is not innocent. You have no idea how dangerous it could be if she is allowed to go free."_

Anna could tell that Pamela was now suspicious and in an effort to restore the psychic's trust in her, Anna explained. "I disobeyed. Which for us is about the worst thing you can do. I fell."

"Meaning?" Dean asked, wondering this whole mess would actually start making some sense.

"She fell to Earth. Became human," Pamela explained, an uncomfortable feeling of guilt settling in her gut. She'd assumed because of what Castiel had said that Anna had done something horrible and unforgivable.

Sam looked surprised at that and looking at Anna. He said, "Wait, I don't understand. So, angels can just become human?"

"It kinda hurts," Anna went on, thinking of her fall from Heaven. "Try cutting your kidney out with a butter knife. That kinda hurt. I ripped out my grace."

Brow furrowed, Fiona leaned forward from where she'd perched on the arm of the couch next to Dean. "I'm sorry—come again?"

"My grace," Anna repeated as she explained. "It's like… energy. Hacked it out and fell. My mother, Amy couldn't get pregnant. Always called me her little miracle. She had no idea how right she was."

"Unbelievable," Sam said, thinking of what he'd learned the other day from Abby. Looking at Anna, he said, "Abby—the forensic scientist over at NCIS—she actually figured it was something like that."

Anna actually seemed surprised by that. "You're kidding."

"No, I'm not," Sam replied. He couldn't wait to tell Abby that she'd been right. "Anna, your DNA is 95% identical to Amy Milton's. Abby was right," he said, still amazed at the idea. "It was divine conception."

But Dean was still trying for answers to what was going on and looking at Anna, he said, "So, what? You just forgot that you were God's little Power Ranger?"

"The older I got… the longer I was human, yeah," Anna replied, casually.

"I don't think you all appreciate how totally screwed we are!" Ruby snapped, irritably. This was no time to be chatting casually. It had been bad enough when Anna was just a normal girl but now the shit was hitting the fan in the worst way.

"Ruby's right," Anna agreed. "Heaven wants me dead."

"And Hell just wants her," Ruby went on, fighting the anger threatening to explode within her. "A flesh and blood angel you can question… torture… that bleeds." Turning to Anna, Ruby's smile was twisted as she said, "Sister, you're the Stanley Cup. And sooner or later—Heaven or Hell—they're gonna find ya."

"I know," Anna replied. "That's why I'm going to get it back."

"Get what back?" Fiona asked, not sure she understood.

"My grace," Anna explained. "If I can find it, then it won't matter which side finds me first."

"Uh-huh," Fiona said, doubtfully. "Okay, good plan in theory. Now let's talk practical application." Looking at Anna, she said, "So where is this grace of yours?"

"Lost track," Anna said, with a slight shrug. Sarcastically, she added, "I was falling at about 10 thousand miles an hour at the time."

His brain suddenly jumping into action, Sam said, "Wait, you mean falling, like… Literally. Like the way the human eye can see? Like a comet, maybe, or a meteor?"

Anna looked quizzically at Sam, but nodded. "Yes. Why do you ask?"

Sam grinned as he explained. "Because if that's the case, then we may be able to track down your Grace."

Anna was about to respond when the front door opened.

While Fiona was used to no one knocking when they entered Gibbs' house, Sam and Dean rose as one, reaching for their guns and turning towards the door before they saw that it was Tony and Ziva.

Ziva looked at the others and after a moment, asked, "What did we miss?"

Standing up and reaching for Dean's shoulder, Pamela said, "Tell you what—give me a lift home and I'll fill you in."

Ziva seemed a bit puzzled by that but after a moment, she nodded, taking the car keys from Tony before going to Pamela and guiding the other woman out to the car.

x

Once the two women were heading out of town, Ziva asked, "Did everything go alright with Anna?"

After a long pause, Pamela shook her head. "Not exactly. Turns out Anna's not just an innocent girl."

"Then what is she?" Ziva asked, frowning slightly.

"A fallen angel," Pamela replied, simply.

"You are not that comfortable with angels?" Ziva wanted to know.

Not sure how Ziva would react to seeing the plastic orbs which had replaced her eyes, Pamela just gave a sarcastic chuckle and said, "Let's just say my first encounter with an angel didn't exactly end well."

* * *

While Dean, Fiona, and Ruby stayed at Gibbs' house with Anna, Sam and Tony headed back to NCIS, first stopping in Abby's lab where the forensic scientist was practically delirious with delight upon finding out that she'd been right about Anna's origins.

Once Sam had explained his theory about checking for unusual astronomical phenomena, McGee had jumped on it immediately, going back up to the squad room to begin searching, Sam following him.

Looking over at Tony who seemed to be staring at the plasma screen as if it were unveiling the mysteries of the universe, Abby felt a pang of sympathy as she realized what was going on in the agent's head. "It's overwhelming, isn't it?" she said, standing next to him.

"I remember when the strangest case was the Bright case," Tony replied.

It took Abby only a moment to remember the case. "You mean the mummy in the smokestack whose wife was killing women and cutting off their toes because she had a deformed left foot?" she said, running on in her usual fashion.

"And now we're dealing with angels, demons…" Tony said, shaking his head. "What's next? Ghosts and werewolves are real?" Catching the edgy look on Abby's face, Tony mentally cringed. "Abbs, don't tell me…"

"Bigfoot's a hoax," Abby offered, hopefully.

Tony didn't exactly find that comforting and said so but his obsessively curious nature brought up a question. "Abby, how do you know about all this stuff?

Making sure the door to her lab was locked, Abby faced Tony and started to explain. "My father used to be a hunter until he lost his hearing in an explosion." Anticipating Tony's next question, she went on. "My mother had been deaf since she was a teenager."

Wondering if Abby had ever hunted down anything supernatural, he asked, "So did you ever actually… you know?"

Catching Tony's drift, Abby's eyes widened. "Are you kidding? Those kinds of things can kill you every which way. Forensics is way safer," she replied.

* * *

"I know you've been thinking about it," Pamela said, broaching the subject after she and Ziva got back on the road after lunch. In answer to Ziva's unasked question, she smiled. "Hunting."

Ziva nodded thoughtfully, even though Pamela couldn't see it. "Yes, I have," Ziva admitted, quietly.

Chuckling softly, Pamela smiled inwardly at being right about that. "To be honest, I think you'd be good at it. You're tougher than Dean, but you're also an investigator. You know how to look for clues but you're also a good fighter."

After a moment, Ziva glanced over at the psychic. "My father raised me to be in the Mossad ever since I was little," she explained. "All I knew for a long time was following orders, doing my assigned duty. When I joined NCIS… things changed."

Sensing that she was getting Ziva to open up, Pamela asked, "Like what?"

Ziva thought about that for a moment before responding, "My definition of loyalty. Tony, McGee, Abby, Ducky… they will follow Gibbs' orders but they will also stand against him if they feel Gibbs is wrong. If I did that in Mossad, I would be reprimanded or worse."

"But Gibbs lets you follow your instincts," Pamela concluded. "He trusts you."

It was true, Ziva realized. Gibbs did trust his team and not only their instincts and hunches, but he also trusted them to back him up, just like the team knew they could trust Gibbs to back them up. But it was more than that. There was also a sense of family that Ziva hadn't experienced even when she was a child. After being lost in thought for a while, she also realized that she longed for the days when she didn't have to use restraint when dealing with wrongdoers.

"So why would you want to become a hunter?" Pamela wanted to know. "You've got a nice job with NCIS. Good pay, actual perks."

"I always feel like I have to ask permission in order to use violence," Ziva explained. "NCIS is a wonderful opportunity, don't get me wrong. But I feel like hunting supernatural creatures would be a far better use for my talents."

"And spending months away from home, never settling down… That actually appeals to you?" Pamela was more than a bit confused by that. Especially since she'd poking a little deeper and found that what Ziva truly wanted most was to be able to put down roots somewhere.

"I am used to it," Ziva said, simply. "It is part of the job, yes? Every job has its sacrifices."

On the one hand, Pamela had to admit that Ziva was handling being thrown into the deep end of the supernatural pool better than anyone else she'd ever known. And that, plus her background and knowledge of federal investigations and weapons practically made Ziva David the perfect potential hunter. But that was also the problem: Ziva was the perfect hunter and Pamela had no doubts that as soon as she was consumed by the job, Ziva would never find her way out of it. She was like a teenager being tempted to join a gang.

With an inward sigh, Pamela vowed that the next time the Winchesters or Bobby Singer asked her for a favor, she would just tell them simply to 'bite me'.

* * *

"Are you okay?" Anna asked as she headed down to Gibbs' basement, surprised when she saw Fiona sitting on the floor, leaning against the boat which took up a good portion of the room.

"Would you believe me if I said I was?" Fiona asked, looking at Anna and giving her a weak attempt at a smile.

Sitting on the floor next to Fiona, Anna waited a few moments before saying, "Dean told me that Lilith killed your father." Turning to look at Fi, she added, "I'm sorry."

Fiona nodded, appreciating the sentiment. "All those years I was angry at Dad and now… I don't know why I hated him. I was just tired of following his orders, never knowing what would happen, always on the road and never settling down…" Catching Anna's look, she frowned. "What's so funny?"

"Nothing," Anna replied, wiping the smile from her face. "It's just… That's part of why I fell."

Before she could say anything in response to that, Fiona heard the stairs creak and she got up quickly and saw Dean coming down the steps. "Find anything about Anna's grace?" Fiona asked as he joined the two women.

"Yeah," Dean replied with a nod. "Just got a call from Sam. We found where Anna landed when she fell and it looks like her grace ended up somewhere in Kentucky. Sam and McGee are trying to narrow it down."

"Well, I guess that's a start," Fiona sighed. After a moment, she said, "I'm going to head over to NCIS. I want to talk to Sam and Ducky."

Once Fiona had left the basement, Anna gave Dean a smile as she got up off the floor and said, "You really like her, don't you?"

"Yeah," Dean agreed. "But not like you're thinking. Fi and I have always been more like siblings. Sam's the one she's always had a crush on."

Anna smirked at Dean and raised one eyebrow. "So you've never thought about the two of you—?"

"No, no…" Dean assured her. "It'd be like sleeping with my sister." Leaning against the boat, he added, "Yeah, but Sam's always had a thing for Fi." Thinking on what Castiel had told him about Sam, Dean wondered if Fiona knew that Sam was drinking demon blood. Although given that Fi had stuck Ruby in a Devil's Trap in the backyard, he ventured that it was a safe bet that Fiona knew.

* * *

Arriving at NCIS, Fiona's first stop was Autopsy where Ducky was busy at work on the latest murder victim. Looking up, the medical examiner noticed the look on her face and in his eyes there was a look of understanding. Turning to Palmer who seemed a bit awkward around Fiona, Ducky pulled off his gloves. "Mr. Palmer, if you would be so kind as to finish with the poor petty officer, please?"

"Certainly, Doctor," Palmer replied, going to work.

Leading Fiona over to the coolers, Ducky stopped by one and gave her a comforting yet sympathetic look. "Gibbs didn't mention to which funeral home you were having your father's body sent."

"I…" Fiona cursed the choke in her voice and after a few seconds she said, "Dad always said he wanted his body salted and burned when he died." Seeing the amazed look in Ducky's eyes, Fiona explained. "When hunters die, they usually want their bodies cremated. That way nothing can…" To her surprise, she felt tears sliding down her cheeks.

Putting a gently hand on Fiona's shoulder, Ducky said, "If you would like to say 'good-bye'…"

But Fiona wasn't ready for that yet and she shook her head. "Um, if you could just… Once this thing with Anna is over, I-I can…"

But sparing Fiona, Ducky simply nodded. "Just let me know when you're ready, my dear."

"Thanks, Ducky," Fiona replied with a small smile. Heading out of the lab, she started towards the stairs but as she started up, she stopped when she heard Sam talking to a woman who sounded like Ruby.

"Look, I know the angels freak you out—" Sam began before being cut off by Ruby.

"Forget the angels, it's Alastair I'm scared of!" Ruby said, and Fiona was surprised to hear the actual fear in the demon's voice.

"Alastair?" Sam repeated, sounding a bit confused.

"Demon that Dean and your girlfriend met in the church. Practically the Grand Inquisitor downstairs—Picasso with a razor."

"And?" Sam replied, although Fi wasn't sure what he meant by that.

x (A/N: There's a POV switch here from Fiona to San and Ruby. Just FYI.)

"_And_," Ruby went on, her voice low and determined. "You should pull him out—throw him back in the Pit if you weren't so out of shape." God, was Sam really going to risk everything just so he had a chance with some chick from the old days?

"Ruby," Sam said, not wanting to hear it.

"No, you're ablilities—they're getting flabby," Ruby argued. She'd put too much into this. She _needed_ Sam back. Her whole plan counted on it.

"Yeah, so how do I tone up?" Sam asked, defensively.

"You know how," Ruby replied. "You know what you gotta do." A few more hits of demon blood and she knew that Sam would never be able to fully break the addiction. But the worst part was that it would have to be voluntary. She couldn't force him, Sam had to be willing.

But remembering the look on Fiona's face when she'd confronted him, Sam knew that he couldn't start with the demon blood again. He had to find another way…unless he wanted to lose Fiona forever. "No, I'm not doing that anymore."

"Sam," Ruby insisted, forcefully.

"I said 'no'," Sam repeated. He wouldn't do it. Between Dean and Fi… Dean's reaction had been bad enough. Sam had hated hurting his brother like that, but hurting Fiona…

Ruby knew she had to back off before Sam decided that she wasn't worth keeping around and she said, "Well, then you better pray that Anna gets her groove back. Or we're all dead."

Hearing footsteps coming up the stairs, Sam turned to see Fiona coming towards them.

Ruby gave Fiona a look, wondering how much she'd heard but decided against it. Looking at Sam, she muttered a quick good-bye and headed back up the stairs.

Once sure that Ruby was out of earshot, Sam watched Fiona sit on the steps and after a long pause, he sat down as well. "So?" Looking at Fiona, he asked, "How much did you hear?"

Fiona turned to him and after a moment, replied, "Everything from Alastair to you refusing demon blood."

Ashamed that Fi had figured out what Ruby had been talking about, Sam looked down at his shoes. "I'm not proud of what I was doing, Fi."

"Sam…" Fiona stopped, not sure of what to say, but after a while, she sighed. "Do you remember when my dad joined you, Dean, and John to go after Yellow Eyes?"

Still not looking at Fiona, Sam nodded, remembering all too well the failed hunt and the car accident. "I remember," he muttered.

"I was on leave," Fiona went on, staring at the wall in front of her. "Dad wanted me in on the hunt. I said 'no'. I shouldn't have."

"Fi…" Sam said, shaking his head.

Looking at Sam, Fiona waited until he met her eyes. "You and Dean are my family. I'm sorry I wasn't there for you."

"You had a life," Sam argued. "A-A career. It's not like me. I could just walk away. You couldn't."

"Yes, I could have," Fiona insisted. Getting up, she sighed. "I just… didn't want to."

Standing as well, Sam pulled Fi close. "And now? You can still walk away, you know."

Fiona smiled and reached up, putting a hand on the back of Sam's neck, pulling him down for a long kiss. When she pulled away, she grinned. "And if I leave, who's going to keep you on the straight and narrow?"

"Well, there's Dean, too," Sam argued. Seeing Fiona's wide-eyed look, he put his hands on her waist and bent down for another kiss. "But he doesn't kiss like you."

"You know, Pamela was dead on about something," Fiona commented during a break in the kissing.

"Oh?" Sam asked in between long tastes of Fiona's lips. "And what's that?"

Reaching around and grabbing Sam's butt, Fi enjoyed the Sam's face as she said, "You have got a great ass."

Sam was about to respond by ripping Fiona's clothes off—in fact, he'd already started undoing her jeans and sliding his hands underneath her shirt—when his phone rang. With a resigned sigh, he backed away, watching Fiona straighten her clothes.

"If that's Dean, tell him I'm going to kill him," Fiona said, only the slightest trace of humor in her eyes signaling that she was kidding.

But Sam's eyes narrowed when he saw the caller ID. Answering the phone, he said, "Yeah? Really? Where?" He listened for a moment and then looked over at Fiona. "Fi and I are on the way up." Hanging up, he said, "McGee may have found where Anna's grace touched down."

x

In the squad room, McGee had a map of Kentucky up on the plasma screen. When Sam and Fi joined him, he zoomed in on one spot. "Found a report of a meteor over a town in central Kentucky. There are also reports of a local miracle." Bringing up the pictures as he spoke, McGee went on. "Just outside of town, there was an empty field back in '85. 6 months after the meteor hit, there was a full-grown oak. They say it looks a century old, at least."

"Great," Fiona replied, eager to get going. "Where's this town?"

McGee smirked as he brought it up.

"Oh, you've got to be joking," Fiona said, biting back a laugh.

Sam shook his head, smiling as well. Looking at Fi, he said, "Dean's going to love this."

* * *

"You're kidding," Dean said as he, Sam, Fiona, Ruby, and Anna gathered around a local map, one town circled in red.

"Nope," Sam assured his brother. "Winchester, Kentucky. Looks like grace ground zero is just outside of town."

"Okay, then," Dean said, grabbing the map before looking at Sam and the ladies. "Then let's go."

x

Maybe it was the lack of sleep, but as they drove through the night, Dean glanced in the Impala's rearview mirror and he couldn't help a small laugh as he saw Anna sitting between Ruby and Fiona.

"What?" Ruby asked, more than annoyed that she had to sit next to Anna.

"Nothing," Dean said, still grinning. "It's just… an angel, a demon, and a Marine riding in the backseat. It's like the set-up to a bad joke or a _Penthouse Forum_ letter."

"Dude," Sam said, hoping that none of the gals in the backseat retaliated for the remark. "Reality… porn."

"You call this reality?" Dean scoffed before he felt someone smack him on the back of the head.

To Dean's surprise, he heard Ruby say, "Thanks."

"Don't mention it," Fiona replied.

With another glance in the rearview, Dean sighed. This was going to be a long drive.

* * *

The oak tree that presumably housed Anna's grace was even more beautiful in person. And to Fiona's surprise, she felt a sense of calm and peace that she hadn't felt in years.

"Someone took it."

Anna's voice broke into Fiona's reverie and she looked at the others, trying to act as though she hadn't just been daydreaming. "Who could have done that?" Fiona asked.

"Another angel," Anna replied, angrily. "It's the only way."

"Great," Ruby said, sarcastically. "Out of the frying pan and into the fire. And I _don't_ mean that figuratively." When Dean turned to glare at her, she was surprised when someone smacked the back of her head.

"Thank you," Dean said to Fiona before shooting a look at Ruby.

"You're welcome," Fiona replied with a smile.

"Okay, look," Sam said to the group. "We can't just sit here, alright? I saw an old barn a couple miles back. Let's go there are we can regroup."

xx

Once at the barn, Fiona stood with Anna who seemed to be listening to the angel talk while Ruby and Dean argued about going back to DC.

"Anna's grace is _gone_," Ruby said, irritably. "Understand? She can't angel up. She can't protect us. We can't fight Heaven _and_ Hell. One side, maybe, but not both. Not at once."

"Um, guys?" Anna interrupted, sounding panicked. "The angels are talking again."

"What are they saying?" Sam asked, knowing that it couldn't possibly be anything good.

"It's weird," Anna said, listening as the message repeated. "It's like a recording—a loop. It says 'Dean Winchester gives us Anna by midnight or…'"

"Or what?" Dean asked, although he knew that he didn't want to hear the 'or what'.

Anna turned to Dean, looking horrified. "'…or we hurl him back to Damnation.'"

Dean's world stopped dead. He couldn't hear anything except his heart pounding in his chest. He couldn't breathe and suddenly, his head was filled with the echoes of his screams, of Alastair laughing as he drove his knife deeper into Dean's flesh. Dean felt himself falling but couldn't stop it. All his memories crashed upon him at once and he could feel the blade carving into him… could feel the flames licking at him…

"_Dean… Dean…"_

The voice wasn't mocking… it wasn't laughing at him. A woman's voice filled with concern.

"Dean. Dean!"

Dean blinked, the images of Hell fading and becoming darker, transforming into an old, ramshackle barn. And above him was the most beautiful girl he'd ever seen. "You really are an angel aren't you?" he said to Anna as he slowly sat up, digging the heels of his hands into his eyes as if that would erase the memories scarred into his mind forever.

"It's okay, Dean," Anna assured him, kneeling down and putting a hand on Dean's back.

"No, it's not," Dean replied, looking Anna in the eye. "None of this is okay."

When Dean turned his face away from her, Anna studied him for a moment before gently touching his cheek, turning his face back towards her. She leaned forward and kissed him, soft and tender.

When Anna pulled away for a moment, Dean asked, "What was that for?"

Anna's smile was gentle and inviting at the same time as she said, "You know… last night on Earth and all that."

In another life, Dean realized, he and Anna might have been soul mates. That is, in a life without demons and angels, heaven and hell. With a smirk, he said, "You're stealing my best line." And throwing aside all his fears and doubts, he leaned in and kissed Anna again.

They somehow made it to the Impala, piling their jackets on one side and Anna crawled backwards into the backseat of the car, Dean on top of her, still kissing her.

Dean pulled away again, breathless and as Anna undid the buttons on her shirt, Dean pulled off his black t-shirt.

As their bodies joined, and the heat built up, Dean felt it burn away his fears, leaving them as smoldering coals deep down. He knew they'd heat up again, but for now, Dean's mind was consumed by Anna.

When Anna moved on top of him, Dean saw her stare at the hand-shaped burn scar on his shoulder where Castiel had gripped him to pull him out of Hell. As if she knew what memories the scar brought to the surface, Anna placed her hand over the scar before leaning in for another passionate kiss.

xx

"How's Dean?" Sam asked when Fiona roused him from where he'd been sleeping at the old table, books and papers strewn about.

"Fogging up the windows of the Impala with Anna," Fiona replied with a smirk as she perched on a corner of the table. Looking at Sam and giving him a suggestive wiggle of the eyebrows, she added, "You know… we were interrupted before."

Sam leaned back in the chair and watched Fiona shed her jacket as she straddled his lap, winding her arms around his neck and kissing him deeply. When Sam stood, Fiona wrapped her legs around him as he held her with one hand while with the other he swept everything off the table in one motion. Laying Fiona down, Sam slowly slid her shirt off, slowly kissing every inch of bare skin as he did so.

Fiona fumbled with Sam's jeans a bit, giggling when she saw the hoof-print boxers he wore.

"Just… shut up," Sam muttered, his fingers ever so lightly brushing the healing cut on her upper arm before he bent down and kissed the skin all around the cut. "You know maybe we shouldn't do this." His brown eyes met Fiona's and he said, softly. "Don't want to rip out your stitches."

"Sam," Fiona said, rolling so that she was on top of him. "Take your own advice: shut up."

x

When Fiona came to fully clothed and alone of the floor of the barn, she knew that she was dreaming. But she was unprepared for what she saw as she got up and looked around.

"The boys finally pulled you back in, didn't they?" John Winchester said as he leaned against the table, giving her a smile.

"What are you doing here?" Fiona asked, a bit confused.

"Your dad wanted to come," John explained. "But you're not ready for that yet." Walking over to Fiona, he said, "I know you want to be in this fight with Sam and Dean, but this isn't your battle. Let them handle it. You have more important things to take care of."

Fiona shook her head as she said, "No. I have to help Anna."

"Don't worry about Anna," John assured her. "She'll be fine." Putting a hand on Fiona's shoulder, he said, "And the boys will be, too."

As he started to walk away, Fiona said, quickly, "Wait." When John turned to her, she said, "Tell Dad I don't hate him."

John smiled and nodded. "I will." Taking a step back towards Fiona, he added, "Tell Dean… Tell him I'm proud of him. Sam, too."

"I will," Fiona promised.

* * *

A/N: The last chapter of _this_ story should be up within the next day or so and will hopefully have some very good scenes.


	10. Chapter 10

AUTHOR'S NOTES: I know that in the canon episode 'Heaven and Hell' there's the big fight between the angels and demons, but as big fight scenes aren't something I'm that great at, I decided to forgo that scene.

Chapter 10

* * *

Waking up, Fiona noticed that she was curled up across Sam's bare chest with his right arm wrapped around her protectively. There was an old blanket over them and when Fiona started to get up, Sam woke as well. "Hey," he said, looking worried as he watched Fiona get dressed. "You okay?"

Fiona nodded as she pulled her bra and panties back on before grabbing her shirt and jeans. "Hey… I need to do something. Can you and Dean…? I wouldn't go, but… it's important."

"Yeah, don't worry about it," Sam assured her, although he was curious about what could possible tear Fiona away now. As he pulled his jeans back on, he hurried forward and took Fi gently by the elbow. "Hey… You sure you're okay?"

Fiona didn't respond but she put a hand on Sam's chest and gave him a quick kiss before leaving quickly.

* * *

The airline flight back to DC flew by and as soon as she got back, Fiona stopped at the first diner she found and ordered the biggest steak on the menu, devouring it with gusto. When she was done, she would call Gibbs and have him help her with transporting her father's body to a secluded wooded spot.

3 hours later, her father's body laid upon a funeral pyre, Fiona showered him with rock salt and lighter fluid before flicking her lighter and tossing it onto the ground, next to the pile of dry wood. The flames caught quickly and as Fiona stepped back to join Gibbs, she looked down at the dog tags she held in her hand. She hadn't thought about keeping them but thinking about how it might be a way to hold on to him, she'd slipped them off her father's neck.

Beside Fiona, Gibbs watched the flames consume James Brendon. He remembered the three of them—Jethro, James, and John—fighting together in the Marines, laughing as they shared pictures and stories of their children while on leave.

And when Shannon and Kelly died, both men had made a beeline for his house, staying with him until certain that their friend wasn't going to kill himself out of grief.

Looking over at Fiona, Gibbs saw that though her expression was stoic, there were silent tears running down her face. Reaching into the inside pocket of his jacket, he pulled out a knife with a deer antler handle, tucked in a sheath. Wordlessly, he turned and handed it to Fiona.

Before taking the knife, Fiona wiped her eyes and when she withdrew the knife from the sheath, her eyes widening as she recognized it as the knife Dean had given her. "How did you…?" With dawning realization, she said, "You took this from the evidence lock-up? Gibbs, you shouldn't have done that."

"Not going to do much good sitting in Evidence," Gibbs replied with a slight shrug. Meeting Fiona's eyes, he added, "But in your hands…"

Fiona looked down at the knife, wondering how she would feel knowing that this was the blade than had ended her father's life. But it was cleaned of blood and the silver was shining. In that moment, she made herself and her father a promise, that she would use this knife to kill the demon who killed him.

Turning to Gibbs who was gazing at her with a father's love, Fiona sheathed the knife and stuck it in her belt. "You know I'm leaving, right? With Sam and Dean? I have to."

"I know," Gibbs replied, nodding. He hated the idea of maybe never seeing Fiona again, but he also understood her need to leave. Putting his hands on her shoulders, he knew why it was so hard for him to let Fiona go. She was everything he'd hoped Kelly would become. But like a father letting go of a daughter, Gibbs knew that Fiona needed to go in order to complete the task set before her.

As if sensing Gibbs' thoughts, Fiona hugged him and whispered, "I love you, Gibbs." Pulling away, she added, "Thank you—for being there for me."

Gibbs could only nod as Fiona turned away, hoping that he wouldn't lose his goddaughter the way he'd lost Kelly.

xxx

Back at her townhouse, Fiona was surprised when she found Ziva sitting in the living room. "Thought you'd be checking in at NCIS," Fiona replied, tossing her jacket onto a chair.

"I wanted to talk to you first," Ziva replied, following Fiona into the kitchen and accepting the beer she offered before sitting at the kitchen counter. After a moment, she said, "On the way back from Pamela's house I had time to do some thinking. About what you and the Winchesters do and everything that has happened." Meeting Fiona's eyes, she added, "I think I should come with you. I think that being a hunter is better use for my abilities than being a federal agent or a Mossad officer."

Fiona considered that for a moment as she sipped her beer. But after a while, she said, "Ziva… Until I was 18, hunting was my whole life. I never really knew anything else. And then I became a Marine and the idea of going back to hunting seemed unreal." Shrugging, she went on. "My point is… the only thing I remember ever being able to really hold onto was my family. Ziva, you would make a great hunter. Anyone would be a fool if they didn't recognize that."

Setting her beer down she added, "But if you have something—anything—to hold onto _here_… then you should stay. This life doesn't allow for putting down roots, Ziva. I'm sorry. And if you come with Sam, Dean, and I… you'll lose what you have here." With a sarcastic smile she said, "Hunters aren't know for working inside the law. You'd be on the run. And trust me—credit card fraud isn't as fun as it sounds."

Ziva hadn't considered that, but as she thought about it, she knew that Fiona was right. But as she considered the notion, Ziva smiled. "You are right," she admitted. When Fiona raised an eyebrow as if saying 'And?', Ziva went on. "Besides… I am sure hunters could use some assistance from law enforcement every now and then, yes?"

Smiling and giving Ziva a nod, Fiona tilted the top of her beer bottle towards her. After the two toasted, Fiona said, "I think this could work out very nicely indeed."

* * *

Dean Winchester was no stranger to dodging bullets. But surviving getting between demons _and _angels? That was like dodging a damn strafing. With the angels gone for the moment and Alastair sent God only knew where, Sam and Dean had just split, stopping just inside the Virginia state line.

Leaning against the Impala, a beer in his hand, Dean said, "I can't believe we made it out of there."

"No kidding," Sam replied, before he and Dean toasted with their beer bottles, even though the gesture was half-hearted.

After a drink of his beer, Dean sighed. After a long pause, he said, "I know you heard him."

"Who?" Sam said, knowing full well who Dean meant. But Dean was finally opening up and he would let his brother do that in his own way.

"Alastair," Dean replied, knowing that Sam had heard everything. "What he said, about how I had promise."

"I heard," Sam admitted, and even though he wanted so much to ask Dean about it, he wouldn't.

"You're not curious?' Dean asked, surprised that he wasn't being hit with a barrage of questions.

"Dean, I'm _damn_ curious," Sam replied. Remembering what his brother had said before, he added, "But if you're not talking about Hell, then I'm not pushing."

At first Dean didn't want to say anything. He just wanted to keep everything inside but at the same time, he wanted to get this… this _thing_ out of him. It was something dark and just seemed to eat away a little more each day. After a while, he said, "It wasn't four months, you know."

Sam looked sharply at his brother, not sure what Dean was talking about. "What?"

Not quite sure how to explain, Dean just started talking, trying not to let the memories overwhelm him again like they had back at the barn. "It was four months up here, but down there… I don't know. Time's different. It was more like 40 _years_."

40 years… The words seemed to echo in Sam's head and he felt guilty for not trying harder to save Dean from the deal… for not doing more to try and pull him out of the Pit… "My God…" was all Sam could say.

Remembering everything that had happened, Dean went on. "They sliced and… carved… and tore at me in ways you…" He couldn't explain. He could _never_ make Sam understand what he'd been through. "Until there was nothing left," he finished. But not really… "And then suddenly I would be whole again. Like magic. Just so they could start in all over." It was strange, Dean thought. Even just talking about it, he could almost feel the knives and blades slicing into him all over again.

"And Alastair, at the end of every day—every one—he would come over and he would make me an offer," Dean went on. At that, Sam looked at Dean, wondering what kind of offer the demon might have given.

Thinking of every day in Hell, Dean kept talking. He didn't feel better, sharing this with Sam. It actually made him feel worse. "An offer… to take me off the rack if I put souls on. If I started the torture." The first few years it had been easy to refuse. Dean had believed so strongly that Sam would save him, had known that someone would come to his rescue. "And every day I told him to stick it where the sun shines."

And suddenly, Dean felt himself break all over again as he admitted, "For 30 years, I told him. But then I couldn't do it anymore, Sammy. I couldn't." He remembered that day as clear as anything.

"_Enough," Dean whispered, eyes closed, his very essence weakened. "Enough… I'll do it."_

_And suddenly, Dean was off the rack and standing before a young woman with brown hair. He knew her and he saw the pleading in her eyes as he raised the blade in his hand. "I'm sorry, Bela." When he brought the blade down, cutting her, something twisted inside gave a pleasurable squirm. _

_But Bela was only the first of thousands…_

"The things I did to them…" Dean choked out, tears falling down his face.

Sam wanted desperately to give his brother some comfort. "Dean." Sam cursed the choke in his voice and cleared his throat, starting again. "Dean, you held out for 30 years. That's longer than anyone would have." But Sam knew it was empty words. He knew that no matter what he said, nothing could make Dean feel better.

Dean couldn't even bring himself to feel embarrassed about crying in front of his brother. All he felt inside was the pain and emptiness. Sobbing, he ran a hand over his face as he shook his head and said, "How I feel… inside me… I wish I couldn't feel anything, Sammy. I wish I couldn't feel a damn thing."

It was a long time before Sam found his voice. "Dean… I don't know what I can say to help, but… I do know that I'm here because of you. That should count for something."

Dean sniffed and wiped the tears from his eyes. It did count for something. The fact that Sam was still with him… it was the only thing that kept him going these days.

* * *

When Sam and Dean got back to DC and Fiona's townhouse, they were surprised to find her old Marine duffle stuffed to bursting and sitting on the couch next to the box which contained the sword Dean had given her a week ago. God, had it really only been a week since they'd fist arrived?

"Fiona?" Sam said, loudly, looking around.

"Hey," Fiona replied, coming into the room from the basement holding a bag which clattered when she dropped it on the floor. "I'll be ready to go in a bit, guys."

"Go where?" Sam asked, a bit puzzled.

"With you and Dean," Fiona replied, as if the answer were obvious. Seeing the brothers about to protest, she said, "Look, I'm going with you whether you like it or not."

"Fine by me," Dean said with a shrug. "Sammy?"

But Sam looked doubtful as he said, "Are you sure? You don't have to do this."

"It's time," Fiona said, grabbing her duffle and weapons. "Besides, I already sold my car and Ziva's moving in here to keep an eye on the place."

After a while, Sam just nodded as he said, "Alright." Taking the duffle from Fi, he headed out to the Impala and tossed the bag in the trunk next to Dean's and dropped the bag of knives and guns in beside it, tucking the NCO sword along the side of the trunk.

"You want shotgun?" Dean asked, holding the front passenger door open for Fiona.

"No," Fiona replied, grinning as she snatched the keys from Dean. "But I'll drive."

Sam laughed as Fiona got behind the wheel and Dean begrudgingly sat in the back. After getting in the passenger seat, Sam thought he would die laughing as Fi started the engine and set the radio for a local country music station.

"Oh, come on!" Dean protested as Fiona backed out of the drive way.

"House rules, Dean," Sam quoted, still grinning. "Driver picks the music, shotgun shuts his cakehole."

"And backseat can kiss my ass," Fiona added, as she pointed the Impala westward and hit the gas, making for the interstate.

* * *

A/N: While this is the end of _this_ story, I hope you will join me with the continuing adventures of Sam, Dean, and Fiona in a story to be called: 'And Fi Makes Three'.


End file.
